


What Do You Believe In?

by wolftez



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comfort, Haunted Houses, Humor, M/M, but keith's a skeptic so hes pretty much just along for the ride, buzzfeed unsolved au, shiro and keith are amateur ghost hunters, they're best friends who only know how to pine after each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2019-10-29 14:00:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17809289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolftez/pseuds/wolftez
Summary: Shiro and Keith are down to the final episode of their supernatural web series as they ready themselves to take off for a year-long mission into the stars. As they prepare to go on their last haunted house investigation, Keith struggles with not pushing the boundaries of their friendship into anything more than it is because Shiro couldn't possibly feel the same way as Keith does ... could he?





	1. Do You Believe in Little Green Men?

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically the result of me rewatching a bunch of bfu episodes while simultaneously being in my sheith inspiration phase.
> 
> I guess you don't have to have seen Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural to understand this story since its only loosely based on it, but I highly recommend watching it anyway because the show is great! It's hilarious, and the back and forth between skeptic and believer is the best kind of dynamic to watch play out between two such funny people. But if you haven't seen it, then all you need to know going into this fic is that Shiro and Keith, being believer and skeptic respectively, have a web show where they go on amateur investigations to haunted houses to try and find proof of any paranormal activity.
> 
> I had so much fun writing this story, and this is incredibly self-indulgent, but I just think the banter between a skeptic Keith and believer Shiro would be so entertaining and funny to watch play out.
> 
> So please enjoy :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith have their first (and last) debate about the existence of aliens.

It was Thursday evening here in their cozy little office space at the Garrison, and Keith was readying the camera on its tripod as Shiro went through the heavily detailed notes in front of him. Shiro was mumbling to himself at the table as he read out loud, trying to get his words into something like a script as he prepared for this week's supernatural video. Keith only smiled to himself as he listened to his partner in crime argue with himself. 

“The Sotterley manor— No, no, no, wrong one,” he said, and Keith’s eyes strayed to him as he fumbled through some papers in a dark blue folder and pulled out a different set of notes. The tense set to his eyebrows smoothed out as he read them. “All right. Aliens.” Shiro took a deep breath and finally caught Keith’s amused glance. Shiro huffed impatiently. “Are you finished yet? I feel like you’re purposely stalling to prolong my nerves; it looks fine!” he said, gesturing to the camera between Keith’s hands. 

Keith chuckled once and finally clicked RECORD on the video camera, guilty as charged. “I would never,” he said as he slid into the seat beside Shiro, his gaze skimming around the room fondly to all the surrounding memorabilia the two of them had amassed over the past two years of their ghost hunting adventures. They’d visited so many places in the time since they started this web show that Keith’s child-self could have only dreamed of going to, and so Keith had always made a point to grab a souvenir from the haunted places they’d investigated. A memento to his cherished life now. 

This penultimate week had been an easy one. Their first case about aliens meant that they didn’t have to go out and investigate any old mansions or tainted hotels for ghostly figures, which gave him more time to focus on one of the last weeks of his job here at the Garrison training new cadets in the simulators, gearing them up for space travel. A job he’d only just gotten a year ago when he graduated himself. 

So, the week had been light, and he’d actually been looking forward to this case more than most; aliens were much more interesting to him than ghosts, after all. 

“You ready?” Shiro asked, and Keith bit his lip and held his hand out toward Shiro, urging him on. Shiro nodded and finally faced the camera to deliver their opening line, flicking on his video persona, which didn’t differ wildly from his true self; mostly just projected less nerves into his voice and more conviction into his words. 

“This week on Garrison Unsolved, Keith and I will delve into soon-to-be released top-secret files surrounding the controversial subject of extra-terrestrial life in an attempt to answer one of Earth’s age-old questions: are aliens real?” 

Instead of Keith’s usual impassive shake of his head toward the camera when Shiro referenced their usual subject of ghosts, Keith infused a bit of feeling into the unsure shrug he gave the would-be viewers, letting his uncertainty show with a coy smirk. Aliens were probable, and while Keith could be stubborn in his beliefs of the unknown, or any of his beliefs in general, he wasn’t a liar. He’d let Shiro present the evidence without complaint, and hopefully he’d get more fuel to fill his alien conspiracy riddled heart in the process. 

“To help us find an honest answer to this question, we’ll be examining some first-hand accounts from credible witnesses who claim to have seen UFOs up close and in person. We’ll also be taking a look at some exclusive never-before-seen footage straight from the Garrison itself. This is top classified information that’s been off the public radar for decades, but with the recent disbandment of the organization in charge of these secret files, and Keith and I’s close involvement with the Garrison, we’ve been given first glance at information set to be declassified later this month.” 

Keith tapped his fingers along the tabletop, earning Shiro’s attention immediately. “This better be good stuff, Shirogane, you know I don’t like to be played with. This could be like that time you promised me irrefutable audio footage of an inter-dimensional ghost, and all I got was some heavy breathing and what sounded like Lance whimpering in the other room.” 

“It was not Lance! I'm telling you, it was real communication from beyond because Lance was all the way on the other side of the house eating his cheesesteak when we picked up those audio waves.” 

“Okay, then. Lance’s _moaning,_ ” Keith corrected with a sly smile toward the camera. 

Shiro gaped at him incredulously before he huffed and nodded to himself, slipping into his more comfortable self as their silly banter started—just like Keith knew it would. “All right, tough guy,” Shiro said as he straightened his notes on the desk. “Aliens.” He gazed at Keith, one eyebrow raised challengingly, practically daring him to treat this case the same as he would their ridiculous ghost cases. “Thoughts?” 

It was no secret to Shiro about where Keith stood on the alien belief spectrum, so Keith thought it was funny how Shiro thought he had the upper hand here, like letting everyone know that he actually believed in something supernatural or sci-fi was like betraying his whole skeptic persona their fans had come to know him as. But Shiro was mistaken; Keith had absolutely no problem with letting the world know about his interest in aliens. 

Keith joyously leaned forward on his arms as he glanced between the camera and Shiro, who was now sitting back in his chair with his arms folded like he’d just won their ongoing battle of _are ghosts real?_ Keith’s gaze finally landed on the camera as he said, with eyebrows raised, “A hundred percent hands down way more believable than unseen ghosts.” 

Keith had the satisfaction of seeing Shiro sputter at the unashamed confession, but he was quick to drop his arms down onto the table like Keith had done and stare him down. “You believe in aliens?” Shiro said, even they both full well knew that he did. “How can you believe in something that’s never been factually seen and confirmed, and yet you scoff at all the thousands of accounts of ghost hauntings recounted around the world every single day?” 

“Easy,” Keith shrugged. “Anyone with a shred of open-mindedness within the realm of actual possibility would be a fool to think otherwise. I mean, to think that we’re it? That the human race is the only thing this giant, beautiful explosion of a galaxy had coughed up in its entirety? No way. There’s gotta be other intelligent life out there somewhere, there just has to, because if we’re all the universe has to offer, then she ought to be ashamed of herself.” 

Shiro scoffed, amused. “Who, the universe?” 

“Damn, right. So much potential there to expand on intelligent life, and instead she would choose to stop with primal humans,” Keith said, going into a dramatic reverie and shaking his head. “Tragic.” 

“Right,” Shiro said, straightening up for the camera once more. “There you have it, folks. We’ve finally managed to get Keith the Skeptic to believe in something other than his beloved string cheese he carries everywhere, and he finds a way to take it out on Mother Nature. Real winner, this guy.” 

Keith chuckled as he laced his fingers behind his head, completely at ease with his life’s choices. “Just keeping it real, Shirogane. If the aliens come, I’ll be the one standing in front of the crowds with a welcome sign doused in gold glitter pointing in our direction that says _LAND HERE_.” 

“And, what if they’re hostile aliens coming to occupy our planet?” 

“Then, _I’ll_ become hostile. You think I can’t take on a few little bug-eyed creatures? Shiro, please, I’ve kicked your ass in the sparring room so many times it’s embarrassing at this point.” Keith glanced toward the camera. “Which, by the way, I’ve done about—” 

“Okay!” Shiro said, voice shrill and cheeks pink. Keith laughed out loud. “Moving on.” Shiro mumbled something else beneath his breath, and Keith was almost positive he heard the words _when_ _aliens come_ and _dead man_ uttered. 

They dove into the evidence Shiro had collected this past weekend on alien conspiracy theories over the years. Most of the conspiracies and first-hand accounts were things Keith had already read up on in the past when his alien interest had been at an all-time high. He’d be lying if he said his childhood obsession with the stars and aliens and the unknown up in space hadn’t led him to becoming a pilot here at the Garrison, the country’s most revered school for space travels. He had yet to travel into space on a mission of his own since graduating last year, but Keith took comfort in the long held secretive knowledge that that was soon about to change. 

Besides the old-news alien theories Shiro was currently recounting for the camera, there was still the exciting bit that Keith couldn’t wait to get to. Just last month, General Iverson had approached them with news of the declassification of top-secret files and footage an obscure branch of the Garrison had silently been working on for nearly a decade. With Shiro’s and Keith’s academic focus on space exploration and piloting, of course they’d known the existence of such an organization within the Garrison existed, but that’s about as much as they knew. They weren’t privy to any evidence found and scrutinized, they’ve never seen any officials reports from that side, it was just nothing but the awareness of such a group. 

But so many things were about to change, and one of the perks of being chosen to go on the next flight up into space was that it had moved Shiro and Keith’s priority level up to the very top within the hierarchy here. It was the reason the Garrison had prematurely handed over the classified footage to them to discuss in their latest supernatural video because by the time the Garrison planned on rolling out this information to the public, Shiro and Keith were going to be hundreds of thousands of miles into deep space by then. 

“Now, it’s time to get to the climax,” Shiro said as he brought out his data pad. 

“That’s what he said,” Keith said, smirking at the camera and winking. 

“Keith!” Shiro admonished, but he never took his eyes off the data pad as he perused through his emails for the classified footage that had been sent to him. “This is a family friendly channel, we cater to all ages so long as they can handle the spooky content.” 

Keith snorted and rolled his chair closer to Shiro to peer over his shoulder at the tablet. His heart delighted in seeing the slight blush on his best friend’s face; it was so goddamn easy to rile him up. “What exactly is spooky about creaky faucets and logical explanations for the odd sounds we hear when we go out to those haunted houses? This is PG at best. Nothing that hasn’t ever been seen in a Tim Burton film.” 

That may have been a stretch since some of the content matter they discussed could get graphic at times, but he did enjoy seeing the blimped up face Shiro made at the comment. 

When Shiro rolled the video footage on the tablet, Keith simmered down and watched earnestly at the footage he’d never been able to get his enthusiastic hands on before. From what Shiro was saying for the viewers and what Keith could ascertain from the video itself, this was a low-quality recording of an unidentified aircraft flying at high speeds just above the Atlantic Ocean, traveling at an impressive speed that even the Garrison’s top aircraft couldn’t compete with. 

To Keith, the UFO looked like a tiny little bean floating above the water, the camera quality from the jet distorted enough to only catch the general shape with its monochrome visuals. It wasn’t exactly the foolproof evidence he’d been hoping for, but he thought there was something to be said about the fascinating speeds the UFO had managed to achieve. He idly wondered if the shuttle he was scheduled to fly into space with could compete with this UFO. 

“Those bastards,” Keith said as Shiro finally stopped replaying the video for them. Shiro chuckled once, incredulous, as he carefully laid his tablet down on the table. “Keeping information like this a secret from the world. Where do they get off?” 

“You’re never satisfied, are you? We’ve been given this footage as a courtesy since we work here, we’re lucky we got to see it at all.” 

Shiro didn’t mention the implication there, how they really _were_ lucky to see this since they wouldn’t be here for the publishing, but nobody knew about their mission yet. Only Shiro, Keith, a few close friends, and the top brass of the Garrison. It wasn’t customary to keep piloting news like this a secret from the public for so long, but these were special circumstances. Shiro and Keith hadn’t wanted their fans to flood the comments section with questions about the mission, so they’d decided to hold off and announce to everyone during their final episode next week. 

Keith rolled his eyes at Shiro’s humble graciousness. The man was happy with any old bone he was thrown. “What does this prove? That someone out there has a faster aircraft than the U.S., big surprise. America can act like top dog, but we don’t come from the proudest of beginnings. Just ask Columbus.” 

“Okay!” Shiro said, voice high, clearly not wanting to start _that_ debate. “While I agree with you on the Columbus point, I gotta say it’s a little disheartening seeing your lack of patriotism. You work under the government, _for_ the government, and for this country’s scientific advancement on space intel, so I wonder sometimes why you ever got into this line of work.” 

“I didn’t come here for the goddamn country, I came here for _myself._ I want to know for myself what lies beyond our blue and green home, and I’ve learned that if I want things done, I gotta do them myself. So, here I am working at the Galaxy Garrison for my own damn advancement, and fuck everyone else who thinks I owe them shit.” 

Keith nodded to the camera proudly, satisfied with his honest confession even if he knew he was going to have to cut that rant out so he didn’t get reprimanded by Iverson, who was actually a pretty big fan of their web show, but it felt good to pretend for a second. Pretend that he could say whatever he wanted and be honest with no repercussions. 

Shiro chuckled to himself as he shook his head and glanced bashfully back at the camera. “You’re such an anomaly. Just when I think I have you figured out, you go and say something that just blows my mind, and then I have to reconfigure you all over again.” 

“I gotta keep everyone on their toes, otherwise what do I got going for me?” 

Shiro elbowed him playfully in the arm, and Keith noticed that he never pushed his chair away from its cozy spot practically right on top of Shiro. “You know full well that you have the world at your fingertips right now. Quit downplaying yourself; you’re amazing, Keith.” 

“Aww,” Keith cooed, and he reached up to pinch Shiro’s cheek playfully. “Isn’t that just so sweet?” 

“Quit it!” Shiro laughed, yanking his face out of Keith’s delicate hold. “See if I ever say anything nice to you again.” Shiro tried hard to keep his face neutral as he gathered his notes and pretended to focus on those, but Keith knew he could get the man to crack effortlessly. 

Keith _pffted._ “As if you could stop yourself, Mr. Sunshine. It’s in your DNA to pass out compliments to everyone. I swear, you’ve got the soul of an eighty-year-old grandma living inside that twenty-five-year-old ripped body of yours.” 

Shiro blushed madly, the red tint reaching all the way to the tips of his ears this time as he tried and failed to suppress an embarrassed close-lipped smile at the camera, and Keith laughed heartily at the sight. Too damn easy. 

Keith leaned forward and studied Shiro’s comically frozen face before he glanced toward the camera and whispered conspiratorially to the viewers, “I think we finally broke him. Who would have known it’d be me to do it instead of the endless number of ghosts we visit, huh?” 

Keith suspected Shiro was playing this up as a means to end the video on a humorous note, so Keith waved a hand in front of Shiro’s face very pointedly before he chuckled once more and talked to the camera. “I guess that’s the end of our debate here tonight. Come back next time to decide if Shiro ever came back to himself or if this is actually an alien possession happening before your very eyes. You be the judge. This is Keith and Shiro signing out, and remember to tune in next week to our finale episode where we’ve got some major news to share with you all. Trust us,” Keith waved his hand in front of Shiro again before facing the viewers solemnly. “You won’t want to miss this.” 

Keith went back to waving his hand again, and after a couple more seconds of this charade, Shiro burst into laughter, shoving Keith away with a hand to his face. 

“You’re the worst,” Shiro laughed as Keith got up to click the video recorder off. The little red light went out, and Keith shrugged at Shiro, his lips still twinging in amusement. 

“You know the fans’ll eat that shit up,” Keith said, and they both knew exactly what he was referencing. It hadn’t taken long since the first episode aired for people to point out the awesome chemistry between the two of them, the easy banter they held even with their differing beliefs in the supernatural. If anything, people seemed to soak that shit up more since they were opposites in that way, and so seeing the theories of what the fans had so cleverly nicknamed “sheith” becoming a couple were commonplace after two whole years of doing this supernatural web show together. 

It didn’t bother them though, not like how some of their more casual fans had feared. Shiro was Keith’s best friend, and they couldn’t help how other people interpreted their little interactions together. The way they sometimes brushed arms against each other with ease and didn’t pull back. The way Keith always knew what to say to reel the fear back in Shiro when their adventures got a bit too much. The way they invaded each other’s personal space like they had every right to, and the way they shot flirty comments each other’s way every now and then. They knew how their close friendship could appear to some people, but they didn’t mind it because they knew where they stood with each other. They were best friends, and nothing more. 

At least, that’s what Keith kept trying to tell himself. 

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel something _more_ for his best friend. He kind of figured that out once when he caught himself thinking that Shiro looked adorably cute when he had a dab of strawberry ice cream on his nose. He hadn’t even thought about it before he’d wiped it away with his finger and slipped it into his own mouth to lick it clean until after he saw the stunned look on Shiro’s face. At the time, the only thought that had been running through his mind was one along the lines of _oh shit shit shit, I must have crossed some invisible boundary, how do I fix this?_ To which his answer to his own question had bubbled out of him in the form of a forced laugh and a strong declaration for his love of strawberry. 

Keith, in fact, hated strawberry, but that was now a trivial secret he had to keep to himself. 

It was just hard not to like the guy when he was literally the nicest person Keith had ever known. Shiro walked the halls of the Garrison like the golden boy he was, and no one dragged him for it. There was no reason to when Shiro was absent of arrogance and full of a genuine kindness that radiated from his every fiber. You’d have to be some kind of asshole to say anything against an angel like Shiro, someone who bravely faced the skies at a high velocity and yet trembled in his boots at the sound of a pin drop in a haunted house. 

Keith was his total opposite. He shrugged off company and kept to himself, graduating at the top of his class, and yet hardly anyone really knew who the true Keith Kogane was even twenty-three years into his life. And he preferred it that way. Growing up in an orphanage had taught him that if he kept everyone at a distance, he wouldn’t have to feel bad or guilty or sad when he eventually moved on to his next venture, leaving behind people who would miss him and who he would miss in return. Why go through that trouble when he could avoid it all? 

But his relationship with Shiro was different. For the time being, their interests clashed and had practically been woven together with how much they studied the same subjects and shared the same goals. He’d figured out pretty early on that Shiro was someone he was going to be crossing paths with a lot in his time here in the Garrison, so when Shiro had attempted a real friendship with him in the form of starting this supernatural web show, Keith had welcomed it, and they never looked back. 

Now here he was, standing behind a tripod and watching Shiro hustle his papers away into his bag, hopelessly pining after the only person he’d ever fully let into his life, and Keith could probably rank the current state of his mind as one of the top five most confusing times of his life, second only to the awful summer in his teen hood when he’d tried to figure out if a mohawk would look good on his head as opposed to a slick fade. The mullet seemed to do it for him now, along with the occasional ponytail, and Keith was glad that dark time was behind him. 

Shiro stood up from the table and slung his bag over his head, gripping onto the strap in front with both thumbs hooked on. “So, where to? Pizza or chicken wings?” 

Keith blinked at him, trying to push away the intense feelings coursing through him. _Get a grip, Kogane._  

“Uh, pizza. Pizza’s cool. I still want to see if we can teach Mabel how to make that Mothman monster of a pizza.” Keith moaned deliciously and tilted his head back, remembering the sweet taste of such a delicious pie on his tongue. When he detached the video camera from the tripod and closed up the legs of it, he took in the blush back on Shiro’s face. He had his lips sucked in between his teeth as he gazed purposely away from Keith, like if they didn’t make eye contact, then Keith wouldn’t be able to see the color in his cheeks. Keith snorted, and said, “Pizza get you going, Shiro? If you wanted that to start with, you coulda just said so. I don’t care what we eat as long as we get it in the next fifteen minutes because I’m starving. All that talk about aliens really gets _me_ going.” 

Shiro cleared his throat as Keith carefully slid the video camera into its case and put it away before he leaned the tripod against the wall. “No, it’s not—” Shiro sighed and finally gazed back at Keith through playful, narrowed eyes. “Will you just hurry up before I take off without you?” 

“Don’t make threats, Shiro. We all know you’re a soft pit bull, okay? All bark and no bite.” 

Shiro scoffed and reached around for Keith to trap him in a headlock, running his knuckles through Keith’s already messy hair. “I’ll show you pitbull, you kitten.” 

They got to the diner in less than ten minutes with the way Keith drove, speeding past all the stop signs on the desolate roads with his hover bike as he raced against nothing to get the two of them there to Mabel’s Diner for their post-video meal. They did this every week after they filmed their video as a way to wind down. It was just routine now. Film on Thursday evening, grab a bite to eat afterward; then on Friday, Keith got done teaching his classes earlier than Shiro did, so he spent a majority of the afternoon editing the video to their liking, dropping the boring bits and the embarrassing glimpses, and putting together a scary story of a haunted house with their colorful commentary for everyone to enjoy. Once Shiro joined him in the evening and looked over the finished product, they uploaded it to their page and waited for the comments to roll in while they sat back with a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Shiro usually picked up from Hunk on his way to Keith. 

It was something the two of them had looked forward to each week, the regular course of a routine making Keith feel safe and secure in where he was at with his life. He wanted to think Shiro felt the same, and truthfully, the man had never given any inclination that this side gig of theirs was too demanding on their lives. If anything, it strengthened their bond, gave them something else to talk about and explore together because Keith certainly wouldn’t be roaming around the country investigating haunted houses on his own. He didn’t think Shiro was too keen on that idea, either. 

“Can I ask you something?” Shiro said as he wiped at his mouth with a clean napkin, eyeing Keith hesitantly. The look immediately put him on alert, and he hurriedly finished chewing his slice of sausage pizza before dropping the rest down to his plate. 

“Anything.” 

Shiro chewed on his lips for a moment, swirling the tip of his finger on the tabletop before he said, “Do you really believe in aliens?” 

There was no hint of teasing in his voice like there’d been earlier in their Unsolved office, and Shiro was gazing at him with thinly veiled apprehension, a look that tugged at Keith’s heart. 

Keith wiped at his mouth with his greasy napkin. “I mean, I think there’s _something_ else out there. Something intelligent like us, maybe even more so. But I don’t really think they’re like little green, bug-eyed creatures, you know? They probably look like us, or some variation of us.” 

Shiro nodded, more so to himself, and he seemed to battle with himself, debating whether or not to say something, before he let out a nervous laugh. “You’re gonna think it’s silly.” 

“ _Shiro_ ,” Keith said as he folded his hands beneath his chin. “I already think everything you say is silly and ridiculous when it comes to the supernatural, so go ahead and say it.” 

Shiro kept his gaze for a few more seconds, searching for something Keith was hoping he’d find. Then, his shoulders slumped. “They’re just nightmares, you know? I’ve been having them all week since I started gathering a case for this week’s Unsolved episode. It’s mostly just being out there in space and encountering hostile aliens. Just… I don’t know.” Shiro sighed, and his muscles were taught with words unsaid. Keith wanted to grill him for more, take all of Shiro’s worry away and ease his heart until nothing but excitement for their upcoming trip stayed, but he also didn’t want to push Shiro, especially here at a diner with prying ears. 

Instead, he pushed the tray of their diminished supply of pizza aside and rested his hand on Shiro’s arm, immediately grabbing the other man’s attention. Shiro’s skin was warm beneath his fingers, and his gaze was soft and expectant on his, and Keith loved every bit of it. 

“Have I ever told you how much you obsess over the little things?” Keith said, and Shiro gathered an indignant breath to interrupt, but Keith rushed on before he could. “I’m not patronizing, I swear. I just wish you wouldn’t do that to yourself. You do it all the time, and then your mind goes into overdrive with all that can go wrong. You spend so much time stuck in your head that you forget the bright side. In two weeks, we’re going to fucking space, dude! Farther than anyone’s ever been, and we get to do that together. I honestly couldn’t have planned it better myself. It’s so perfect, Shiro, and you’re sitting here worrying about the worst case scenario. What happened to the man who’s supposed to be the positive to my negative, huh?” 

He nudged his arm at the end, enough to shake a small smile loose from that tense frown Shiro was wearing. A much better sight that eased a bit of weight off of Keith’s chest. 

“I’m right here,” Shiro said softly, and he laid his hand on top of Keith’s on his arm. Keith’s heart rate sped up at the touch, and he tried to control his breathing, which wanted to run wild all of a sudden. “Of course I know you’re right, and of course I’m ecstatic to be given this opportunity, made even better by the fact that my copilot is going to be my best friend, but I really can’t shake this feeling like something big is gonna happen.” 

“Something big _is_ gonna happen. We’re gonna land on that moon, and we’re gonna collect as much data as we can before time’s up. We might even get to dance with whatever friendly creatures we might find inhabiting the surface, if there even is anything there to find. They could probably teach us a thing or two of their customs so we don’t _give_ them a reason to be hostile.” 

Shiro laughed at that, and Keith was relieved to see the lingering tension leave his shoulders with the action, finally succumbing to Keith’s fruitful imagination. 

“As long as I get the first dance. You promise?” Shiro said, and his eyes still looked a bit vulnerable despite the cleared tension in the air. Keith thought maybe Shiro was asking him to promise so much more, and even though he didn’t know exactly what he was agreeing to, Keith would give it to him. He’d give Shiro whatever peace of mind he needed and still keep his promises. 

“Promise,” Keith said, squeezing Shiro’s arm with the single word of reassurance. His heart lit up when Shiro tightened his grip on Keith’s hand, a warm grip he’d only imagined feeling in his dreams at night. 

They finished up their pizza, and Shiro drove back this time, joking that he wanted to make it back in one piece. As the wind whipped through Keith’s hair, biting him on this chilly night through the desert, he squeezed Shiro a bit harder around the waist, silently sending him good vibes and hoping Shiro woke up a newly refreshed person in the morning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the whole thing written, and I'm just finishing up the editing process in some places, so updates will be coming.
> 
> Thanks for reading x
> 
> [tumblr](http://harrysedwrds.tumblr.com/)


	2. How About the Mission? Do You Believe In That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Shiro spare a quiet moment together, and unasked questions get answered. Some things are better left unsaid in Keith's opinion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said a month ago i was gonna be posting regularly lol please excuse me

Fridays, for Keith, were the most relaxing day of the week. For Shiro, it was his busiest day. The simulator class that Keith taught finished up around noon, and after that, his schedule was free to do whatever he pleased. Ever since the start of their web show, he’d used this time to go through the video footage of their table talk and edit it along with the film from their haunted house stays they usually took to accompany their ghost cases. There had been no house stay this week, though, with all the alien conspiracy theories talk, which meant he was in for a fun day of adding in subtitles and overlapping Shiro’s voice with obscure pictures of their witnesses and tiny clips of the UFO sighting. 

It was tedious work, but he enjoyed it all the same. He loved this show that they did because he was constantly learning something new about the world, delving into the deep theories surrounding the most haunted places in the country. The backstory was probably his favorite bit, learning about a house’s origins or the downfall of a prison. Those stories were true, at least, and chilling to the bone. The things he’d heard during his time on Unsolved were things he’d carry with him for the rest of his life. 

It was all worth it to spend a day working diligently on this video for their fans if it meant he also got a kick out of it. Which he did. The fan response had been overwhelming, and while he’d initially thought everyone had been keen on the idea of learning about ghosts and demons, he quickly found that the thing that seemed to draw in a majority of their viewers were Keith and Shiro themselves. People loved the back and forth debate on whether or not ghosts were real, and with the two of them being on opposite sides of the spectrum, they were likely to draw in viewers ranging from skeptics to firm believers with everyone getting a little something to identify with. 

And the fans could be hilarious. The comments they left and questions they asked made Keith and Shiro die of laughter every time a gem popped up. The viewers were nothing if not enthusiastic in their comments, and that was probably the biggest reward in all of this: helping people feel connected and allowing them a space to debate freely amongst each other, no hardcore arguing from what Keith could see, but funny and genuine debates that ended respectfully. 

Then, there were the shippy comments. He’d never tell anyone this, but the ones where people would point out little moments in the videos where Shiro and Keith did something soft to one another, like a warm gaze or a light brush on the arm, those were his favorite to read; the ones that stuck with him throughout the week as he tried to understand how easily these fans could pick up things Keith hadn’t even noticed. Did he really look at Shiro 'like he wants to protecc his boi' as one person had so studiously pointed out? Did Shiro always grab the hem of Keith’s t-shirt when an eerie sound popped off in the long-abandoned prison halls? These things hadn’t immediately been clear to him when they’d happened, but whenever he watched the parts again after people pointed them out, it was suddenly _all_ he could see. 

Shiro never outwardly dwelled on those comments, instead pointing out the funny ones that backed him up on his ‘ghosts are real’ theory. Keith didn’t want to be that idiot who brought the comments up between them, and even though they both knew they were there and didn’t care that people thought they had real romantic chemistry, talking about it was a whole other thing. Talking about it would force them to say out loud just how much this relationship here was strictly platonic—something Keith knew he just couldn’t admit anymore. 

A groan vibrated out of his throat as he tossed himself back in his chair and took a second to sulk. Why was he such a hopeless, pining idiot? They were about to go into space with each other for an entire year! The two of them, alone, nothing but the endless vastness of zero G and the echoing walls of their shuttle to keep them company. Shiro was his best friend and his soon to be co-pilot, and Keith told him everything else in his life, so why couldn’t he suck it up and just tell Shiro how much he thought about shoving him against the wall and slipping his tongue in between his pretty pink lips? 

“Knock, knock.” 

Keith had been tipping his chair back on its hind legs in agony, and at the interruption to his mild fantasy, he lost his balance and crashed onto the floor, his back striking painfully against the wood of the chair. 

“Ah, fuck me,” he said as he closed his eyes to sit and suffer a moment longer. It was better than opening them and letting the embarrassment hit him full force. 

“Keith!” Shiro said in slight distress. The sound of bags being tossed onto the table registered in his mind before Keith could feel the body heat radiating off of Shiro as he knelt down over him, gripping the back of the chair and one of his elbows to balance him. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said guiltily. 

Keith allowed Shiro to guide him up to his feet, and he rose his arms above his head to try and stretch the muscles in his back loose. “Just me being a testing idiot again. How many times have you warned me against playing with the chairs like that?” 

After a quick once-over to make sure Keith wasn’t actually hurt, a small chuckle left Shiro as he lazily rested his hands on his hips. “People only learn through trial and error, I guess.” 

Keith grunted and yanked the chair back up to carefully settle back down on it. Shiro unwrapped the PB&J stash from the plastic bag and tossed a couple of wrapped ones his way, and Keith wasted no time in tearing the first one open to take the biggest bite he could stomach. 

“Oh my god, Shiro, you’re a lifesaver. I don’t think I've eaten anything since breakfast.” 

“Thank Hunk because he’s the one who stays late on Fridays just to make sure we get our PB&J from the mess hall.” 

Keith hummed around his mouthful of jelly and peanut butter before he tipped his head back and said loudly into the air, “Thank you, Huuunk!” 

Shiro huffed amusedly to himself behind his sandwich before he pulled up a chair and slid in close to Keith, enough to lean across him to get a better glance at the video that was nearly complete. It was hard for Keith to not sit and stare at the taught muscles in Shiro’s back, the way his dress shirt and vest seemed to strain against the confines as he stretched obliviously across Keith, but Keith forced himself to inch forward around him to play the whole video back. The video was better once he’d actually watched the thing from start to finish, and with the way Shiro was watching and smiling and nodding happily as he finished off his sandwich made the little knot in the pit of Keith's stomach lessen. 

“What do you think? Good to go? I don’t think I skimmed anything important, but I’m sure you’d know more better,” Keith said as he wiped his hands after his second sandwich and occupied the space closer to the desk since Shiro had leaned back into his own chair. 

“No, you’ve pretty much included all the main points in my alien case.” Shiro snorted amusedly. “I see you kept in a little of that Garrison tirade.” 

Keith smirked at him. “Just enough to not get me fired for treachery.” 

Shiro nodded in approval. “It was a funny bit. I’m glad it made the cut.” 

Keith tweaked a few details at the end, and once he was finally finished, he slid the mouse across the table toward Shiro. “Would you care to do the honors?” 

Shiro grinned brightly at him, the stars twinkling in his grey eyes, before he grabbed the mouse and clicked to upload. 

“Woo,” Keith said, twirling his finger in a halfhearted circle at the anticlimactic feel of it all. 

“Yay!” Shiro said much more enthusiastically than Keith’s monotone. “Just think. Next week is gonna be our final episode. No more ghost hunting trips, no more gathering evidence for cases that I know you don’t believe in, no more fan comments to read and laugh about. It’s just gonna be complete … emptiness, far away from anyone and everyone we know.” Shiro’s voice had dropped considerably, a stark contrast to his previous exuberance that had Keith looking twice. 

Keith sighed, trying not to show how much the turn in conversation made him anxious. He, too, had these fears. He worried about what life was going to be like not surrounded by tons of people like he had his entire life. He’d never wanted anyone in his circle, but that didn’t mean he didn’t find comfort in being a part of the collective consciousness of society going on around him. Being alone in a crowded room. It was a comfort he hadn’t even realized was a comfort until the idea of giving it up had presented itself. 

He should have known that Shiro’s fears would run deeper. He was the kind of man who thrived among social crowds, the kind of person who didn’t do good in silence, stuck in his head. Keith should have known this.

Keith opened his mouth, closed it again, and then said, “I’m scared, too, Shiro. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fucking ecstatic about leaving Earth behind and exploring the vast unknown with my best friend, but I’ve thought about it, too. About the lack of communication with everyone, about the idea of quitting people cold turkey.” 

Shiro offered a bittersweet smile. “Somehow, I thought you’d love that part the most since you’re always avoiding most people anyway.”  Shiro wrung his hands together briefly, hesitating, before he said, "I'm ashamed to say that after your rant yesterday, I started to wonder why you even wanted to go up there into space. I thought ... I thought maybe, like so many other things in your life, you didn't believe in the mission."

Keith felt a guilty flush go through him and turned his face to hide himself. He suddenly wished he was sitting in one of those swirly chairs so he could bounce away this anxiety flowing throughout him. "It's not so much that I don't believe in it than it is that I'm excited to just be fulfilling one of my dreams. I've always wondered what was up there, living, floating around, and now I finally get the chance to find out after I put so much work into this. It feels like a reward to myself for everything I've worked toward since I was little. I believe in this mission, maybe not in the same way you do, but in my own way." Keith felt hot after saying that, and when he gazed back at Shiro, he knew the earnest message had been received in the gentle acceptance of Shiro's own gaze. "And maybe the idea of leaving everyone behind had seemed appealing at first, but the closer we get to launch, the more I realize I’m gonna miss being a part of a crowd, something bigger than myself. Even if I never particularly joined in anyway, it’s just a comfort thing.” 

Shiro nodded. “I get it. I do. When we first got wind a few months back that we’d been chosen to go, I walked around for days in blissful euphoria, imagining piloting our shuttle far away and to places I’d only ever dreamed of. But it’s so close now, and it all feels like so much too soon, and I don’t know if I’m ready to give it all up. I’m going to miss it all. I’m going to miss stopping by to pick up our Friday dinner from Hunk, and I’m gonna miss hanging out with Matt in the observatory, goofing off and pointing out our future homes in the planets above us. I’m even gonna miss the way Lance and Pidge constantly bicker with one another over the most mundane of things. But, I’m going to miss our show most of all because the fans really give us too much attention and love, and that’s always going to be special to me.” 

Keith glanced toward the screen where comments were starting to roll in, and he leaned forward to pat Shiro’s knee. “Well, we still got two more weeks to soak up as much love as we can from these guys, so what are you sitting there sulking for?” Keith said, and Shiro huffed a laugh before shaking his limbs loose. Then, softer, Keith said, “Don’t worry about the trip yet. Let’s just live for today, okay? It’s really not gonna be as bad as the worst of our minds can think of, and you’ll be so much more relaxed. I promise you.” 

The warm, grateful smile Shiro gave him was more than anything Keith could have asked for. “Thanks, Keith. You always know what to say.” 

“And _you_ are the only one who can say that considering you are most of my conversations.” Keith scoffed, already facing the screen and rolling through the comments.  

“And I will be for the next year, so I hope you never minded before.” 

As if Keith would ever. 

Most of the comments to start with were _First!_ and variations of the sort. There was a bunch of obnoxious laughter in all caps that still didn’t offer any insight to what people thought about the video. It was their first video on aliens, and Keith had been curious about the discourse on science fiction as opposed to supernatural occurrences among the skeptics and believers. 

After about twenty minutes after the video had been uploaded, comments started to pour in with more precision, their funnier viewers having watched the entire thing and possibly going back for a second time as they pointed out the tiny things they always seemed to notice. A few of them were noteworthy, and Shiro and Keith took turns pointing out the ones that made them laugh until their stomachs hurt. 

Then, came the comment that made both of them blush.

_13:36_ _Keith looks like he’s 2 seconds away from yeeting the tablet across the room and jumping Shiro RIGHT THERE on the table OHHHHHH_  

It was noticeable only because it was the longest sentence amidst a bunch of three worded sentences from others, and Keith could feel his heart skip several heady beats, thinking he’d finally been caught. He didn’t think he’d looked at Shiro any particular way, so which part was this person talking about _exactly_? 

He chanced a glance at Shiro and found the man already staring at him, mouth still dropped open in startled shock, his face as red as he’d seen it in a while, and any trickle of hope that Shiro hadn’t seen it plummeted down to his stomach. 

Shiro recovered first, like he usually did, taking the reins when Keith was too flustered to take initiative. 

Shiro cleared his throat. “Colorful fans we have,” he said, chuckling. He pulled at the collar of his dress shirt, and Keith wanted to run and fling himself into space right that second. Was Shiro uncomfortable this time? Was this the comment that would finally force the two of them to speak about the state of their relationship? 

Keith could only offer little choked sounds of surprise as a startled laugh escaped him. He honestly had no idea what to say, and every possible response in his head sounded way too defensive to be let out. Of course, that just left the door open for Shiro to an opinion. The shock of the anonymous statement left Shiro, and after he swallowed and what looked like embarrassment began to take its place, he cleared his throat. 

“I mean, we don’t have to listen to them,” Shiro said as if he were reassuring Keith. But Keith _did_ want to take their advice. He probably _had_ wanted to jump Shiro right there on the table at 13:36, and he suddenly wanted to bare it all out. He should say something, right now, while he’s got his opening. His adrenaline was pumping, and he licked his lips in anticipation, ready to just say, _Shiro_ — “We’re best friends, and that’s all.” 

Keith deflated, the breath rushing out of him in one defeated slump. And there it was. The big declaration, only it wasn’t the outcome he’d been hoping for. It wasn't the answer the Shiro in his fantasies had uttered to him while having a quiet moment together. Right now, Shiro’s tone brokered no room for argument; he didn’t ask Keith if he was right or not in his statement, he was _telling_ him, and Keith finally had an answer to the question he’d been too afraid to confront. 

There was no time for Keith to show just how much he was disheartened in the moment, not when Shiro was gazing at him with hopeful eyes, that urge to ease Keith’s discomfort all he could see in Shiro’s eyes. 

“Right,” Keith said, hoping his voice didn’t sound too pathetic. “Best friends, and nothing more. Those people are just wishful thinking.” 

Shiro stared at him for an unnerving second, and Keith thought maybe he could see right through his falsity, but then Shiro blinked and nodded, and any hesitance Keith might have imagined on his face disappeared with his resolve. 

As they went back to the comments, there was an awkward tension in the air around them, making Keith silently began counting down until he could leave and hide away in his room for the night. The call of his tiny, single bed had never sounded so appealing, but there was a first time for everything. Shiro must have had the same idea because his eyes kept straying down to his watch. Yikes. 

Keith sighed quietly to himself and decided to put him out of his misery for the night. There was no point in forcing both of them to sit and stew in the awkward tension Mr. Anonymous had unknowingly caused. At least _this_ he could do for Shiro. “If you wanna go, you can. I’ve got all this,” he said, gesturing to the computer. He still had to go through and maybe respond to a few people before he wrapped up for the night, and he could do that alone. “You look exhausted.” 

Shiro rubbed a hand over his eyes, and Keith decided that that wasn’t a total lie. Shiro _did_ look wrought out, and some rest before their busy weekend at their next haunted attraction would do him some good. 

“Yeah, I think I might do that. I’ve just been trying to cram in as much useful information to these cadets as I think they could use. I’m sure Matt's going to do a fine job taking over for me, but I just want to inflict all the wisdom I can on them before I’m gone for a whole year.” 

Keith smiled to himself as he clicked through some of the comments, searching for a good one to respond to. “You’re gonna burn yourself out before the real party starts this weekend. The infamous Sotterley plantation. I hear the ghosts who live there love to get down--and _push_ people down. Stairs, that is.” 

“Keith!” Shiro laughed, reaching over to smack his shoulder with a rolled-up piece of paper between his hands. “That was corny, even for you. Also, one of these days, you’re gonna get the possession of your life, and then you won’t be so quick to be making ghost jokes.” 

“They have to catch me first. Oh, wait, they’re not even on the same plane as us, so how can they?” 

Shiro smacked him again, and Keith laughed as Shiro gathered up his things. He was the kind of man who cleaned up for the both of them, and Keith was unsurprised when he turned around to find the tables clear of any plastic wrap from their PB&J sandwiches. What a gentleman. 

“Bring your overnight bag to the office in the morning. It’d be easier if we could just leave for the Sotterley manor as soon as we finish our table talk for the audio voice over,” Shiro said as he paused at the door, one hand clinging to the threshold. “Lance and Pidge are meeting us at the airport.” 

“All right. What time are we meeting in the office?” 

“Eight, because our flight is at eleven hundred hours.” 

Keith groaned dramatically, cursing existence itself, before he said normally, “Okay, eight’s good.” 

“Great. And after we land, I want to take our time to the manor. It’s not every day we get to head out to Maryland, and I want to sight-see.” 

Keith smirked. “Course you do.” 

“It’s gonna be fun! I hear they have this huge aquarium where they offer 4-D shows! You know how I love 4-D just about anything. It really attacks all of your senses at once and makes you feel like you're a part of the show, you know?” 

“No, I know, I'm just thinking about how much time we're going to waste sightseeing before we actually get to the manor.” Keith turned around in his chair to rest an arm on the back of it, his smile turning gentle. “And I can’t wait.” 

Shiro grinned so brightly at him, biting his bottom lip. His enthusiasm was nearly a tangible thing in the room, making him glow brighter and brighter. “Me neither.” 

Keith could picture how excited Shiro would be walking around the aquarium and pointing out all the little sea creatures to Keith with exuberance. If this was going to be their last road trip for a while, then Keith was going to damn well cherish every second of it. 

Shiro left then with a softly called good night, and Keith went back to his work. A few comments were floating by, and while some had made him snort with laughter, he couldn’t get that one comment out of his head. 

He probably shouldn’t, but what were the chances Shiro would find out before it was time for launch? 

Throwing caution to the wind, Keith scrolled all the way back up and searched for nearly fifteen minutes before he finally found the comment that had made the both of them blush like a couple of teens. Keith bit his lip and couldn’t stop grinning as he typed a one-worded response to the person, knowing it’d go viral within their fan base within hours. 

 _;)_  

He just hoped it stayed there and didn’t reach Shiro before the end of the two weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the actual haunted house stay, and also the longest chapter of the story woo! Also my favorite chapter :)
> 
> Thanks for reading xx


	3. And Ghosts? Why Don't You Believe In Anything?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith spend an evening investigating their last haunted house together before they head for the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it again, and I have no excuse.
> 
> Please enjoy. *runs and hides*

Keith didn’t normally wake up so early on Saturdays, walking through the halls of the Garrison with a baggy hoodie and a cup of coffee clutched protectively to his chest, his overnight bag heavy on his sleep-achy shoulders. Any other weekend, he’d still be slumbering in bed while lying haphazardly on his stomach, knee stretched upward while a little bit of drool crusted on the side of his mouth, a man lost to the waking world. 

He wished he could be doing that right now, but this past month had done nothing but shake up his lax schedule into one of utmost rigor. When he wasn’t teaching classes or taking his own safety and survival classes in preparation for his first big space mission post-grad, he was relaxing in his room and soaking up as much of his steady life as he could before he had to leave. 

Usually, Keith and Shiro took their investigative haunted house trips on Monday since both of them had no classes to teach that day, but after this weekend, their itineraries were going to take a beating. Nothing but meeting after meeting after class after meeting was what Keith and Shiro had waiting for them since launch day was fast approaching, and everyone had to make sure Keith and Shiro were as prepared as they could possibly be before they were sent up into space alone. 

They might have scheduled their final episode for Garrison Unsolved a little too close to launch, but they were determined to give the fans a sendoff they deserved. If that meant Keith would have to grudgingly wake up at eight hundred hours on a Saturday for the show, then so be it. 

Shiro was already in the office when Keith sulked in, the other man bright and chippy and looking freshly showered for the day ahead. 

“Good morning, sleepy head,” Shiro smiled at him from his seat at the desk. Keith grunted and tossed his backpack to the already cluttered ground before he slumped into his seat beside Shiro and let his head fall onto the desk, one arm curled around his face and the other hand still clutching the coffee like a lifeline. 

“Come _ooon_ ,” Shiro encouraged, grabbing a hold of Keith’s dead shoulders and shaking them lightly to get him energized. “It’s our last Unsolved video! Perk up because you’re about to be on camera, and we don’t want everyone worrying about you. We can’t leave them with that worrying image of you.”

“What image?” Keith said, but it was severely muffled by his face being squashed in the dark space between his mouth and the table. 

“That’s the spirit.” Shiro clapped him on the back, and Keith spilled a little coffee from the force of it. 

With a soft groan, Keith finally put some willful energy into himself and picked up his head, immediately following that burst of energy with some caffeinated assistance from his drink. He downed the little bit he had left and tossed it in the trash by the door from right there at the desk. 

“He shoots; he scores,” Keith said, facing Shiro with a lazy grin. “Too bad we didn’t get that one on camera.” 

Shiro nodded toward the video camera set up on the tripod a few feet away from the table, the little red light rhythmically blinking already. “I already set the camera up right before you came in. Say hi to everyone.” 

Keith’s eyebrows rose, but the surprise was quick to slide away, and Keith whistled lowly, impressed with Shiro’s initiative. One less thing for Keith to do. “Fuck yeah. I’m definitely opening the episode with that winning shot.” 

“Great. You do that, and I’ll start the voice over.” Shiro took a steadying breath, getting into investigative detective mode while Keith tried to scrub away the tired from his face. 

“It’s the final episode of the season, and this week on Garrison Unsolved, we’ll be traveling to the Sotterley Plantation, one of the oldest standing plantations from the early 18th century, and also the sight of numerous paranormal happenings, as Keith and I attempt to answer the ongoing question: are ghosts real?” 

Keith dutifully shook his head at the camera in response. 

Shiro immediately got into the history of the house, and Keith listened with rapt attention, offering a humorous point of view here and there to bring the tone back up again. Keith had never heard of the Sotterley Plantation before this week, but with the way Shiro was making it sound, he thought maybe he should have by now. 

The Sotterley Plantation, according to Shiro, was a manor that had started out as a small house on a stretch of land overlooking the Patuxent River in Saint Mary’s County, Maryland in 1703. Since its over three-hundred-year reign, it had gone through numerous owners, some of which who had lived there their entire lives are reported to still haunt the halls of the expanded-on manor. As the plantation passed down between generations and had eventually gotten sold out of the initial family, each new person who had owned it expanded on the land a bit, adding in various separate buildings with their own purposes to serve the economic climate of that time. 

Keith couldn’t remember any of the names Shiro was saying as he went through his brief biography of the house, but he wasn’t too interested in that. 

“So, get to the good stuff; tell me about the hauntings,” Keith said, interrupting a small bit he thought was just repetition from the other man. He was more awake now after the caffeine from his coffee ran through his blood, the feeling like singing in his veins making him peppy enough to follow along with Shiro’s discussion. 

Shiro cut off from what he was saying and turned to Keith with a soft admonishing look. 

“Two seconds. I was two seconds away from delving into the spirit of George Plater III, but since you so kindly waited for me to finish his bio, let’s get into the good stuff. 

“So, George Plater III was born and died in that house. Probably the first person to live the entirety of their life in that house, so it’s no surprise to me that his spirit has been reported in many of the occurrences I’ve collected from the staff who work there now. One of the tour guides, who was a bit of a rookie at the time, had broken tour protocol one evening and went to the second-floor level where he was explicitly told not to go. He didn’t even get a chance to step onto the second floor landing before he claims, quote, ‘An invisible force pushed against me, and I went tumbling down the stairs,’ unquote.” 

Keith snorted, trying to stifle a laugh behind his hand. “Well, I think it’s safe to say he never broke the rules again.” 

“They say the second floor belongs to George, and he can be nasty when people try to tread on his domain.” 

“Right,” Keith said, straightening up as his excitement got the better of him. “I’m going to the second floor when we get there, and I want to see this ghostly man try and push me. I’m ready, I’m coming prepared.” 

Shiro laughed. “With what?” 

“I’ve got this,” Keith said, and he dug into his tight jean pocket to pull out a smushed stick of string cheese, holding it proudly for Shiro and the viewers to see. 

Shiro snorted, the sound half like a laugh and half confusion. “What exactly are you planning to do with that? Bribe them with molded cheese? Where did you even get blue cheese in string cheese form?” 

Keith shrugged. “I have my ways. And this is my weapon. Blue cheese is the worst, and I have a theory that even ghosts aren’t immune to its pungent smell. So, if Georgie tries to step up on me, I’m just gonna,” Keith whacked the cheese stick through the air, “give him a little head tap, you know. Let him know that I’m not fucking around with his possessiveness.” 

Shiro shook his head, pressing his lips together tightly to fight the smile. “Just so you know, I’ll be a few steps below you on the stairs ready to catch you when George Plater plows right through your invincible string cheese and tries to toss you to your death.” 

“I don’t plan on dying tonight. And if I do, then expect a very pissed off text from me from beyond the grave.” 

“Ghosts can’t text,” Shiro said matter of factly. 

“Why not? Isn’t technology supposedly their main source of communication? Hitching a ride on their radio waves and all that?” 

“Yeah, but texting is different.” 

“It’s not. And I’ll prove it. Let’s make a deal, right now. Whichever one of us dies first had to send the other a text message from the ghostly realm.” 

Shiro regarded him with amusement and incredulity all at once, but Keith was being dead serious. If he couldn’t prove the non-existence of ghosts on this realm, then he’d fight the fight even after his own demise. 

“Fine. Deal,” Shiro said, offering Keith his broad hand. Keith immediately gripped him in his excitement, and they shook hands for a good deal longer than was necessary before they finally pulled away. “And what is this text supposed to say? How will I know it’s really you and not Lance or someone trying to play a trick on me?” 

“Because we’ll use a secret code phrase. And we can probably mess around with the phone number, too. It’ll probably be some weird mix of numbers that make no sense. If I can help it, I’ll have the phone number be 420.” 

Shiro glanced at the camera, unimpressed. “Classic.” He gazed at Keith once more. “Okay, and what will the code phrase be?” 

“Easy. The code phrase is, _I’m dead_.” 

Shiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath, held it, turned his gaze toward the ceiling in what Keith thought was an effort not to explode. A tiny laugh stalled in Keith’s throat as he fought against outright laughing at the sight. 

When Shiro was done being dramatic, he faced the camera as if pleading for the viewers to reach through their screens to come save him. “Great secret code phrase there. I’m glad we put you in charge of that one.” 

Shiro continued on with the history of the house and other strange occurrences, and Keith took a moment to gaze around the office. It was filled with knick-knacks from all of their previous investigations. Like the cardboard cutout of a small demon girl in a little white dress with a blue ribbon around her waist that sat in the corner behind Keith. That was pretty much universal to all their demon cases since most demons were said to disguise themselves under the safety of a harmless little girl. There was the little figurine on their desk of the Mothman, one of their more legend-based cases as opposed to outright haunting. A huge life-like Bigfoot figure stood towering behind Shiro like a monster from a horror movie, ready to attack and bite the life out of someone. 

Shuffled off to the side of Keith, but still within the camera’s field of vision, sat an alien blowup doll that represented their latest case. It was like the dramatized version of an alien—three feet tall, wide oval eyes, and green all over. It was cute, and Keith had gone warm all over when Shiro had gifted it to him last week in honor of their first alien case together. Keith had named it Green and set it standing up close to him by his chair, and even though Shiro had rolled his eyes at Keith’s unabashed unoriginality, Keith had felt so incredibly fond of it for the rest of the day. 

This was probably one of the last times they’d be in here like this: Shiro telling his ghostly little stories to Keith and the viewers with such adorable enthusiasm; Keith listening intently while purposely biding his time to hit Shiro with some funny line that challenged his ghost beliefs; the two of them just lounging around in this room together like it was their own little hideaway filled with creepy artifacts and cluttered ghost hunting equipment. 

This had been their life for two years, and it had been the happiest time of his life. He’d found a home here with Shiro and the fans, going on these weekly ghost hunts for things he knew weren’t there. Keith didn’t go on those trips to try and prove his point about ghosts being purely fictional; he went to spend the day with Shiro. He went to create something more than himself for everyone else’s pure entertainment, and it had been so incredibly gratifying. Keith was really going to miss this part of his life the most. 

Keith watched Shiro’s profile for a few seconds, admiring how even from the side Keith could see the brightness in his eyes, and when Shiro finally glanced toward him, he faltered, his eyebrows immediately turning down to Keith in concern. 

“What is it?” Shiro said, letting the papers rest flatly on the table as he angled himself toward Keith. But Keith only smiled at him and shook his head. 

“I think it’s finally time, Shiro,” he said. Keith blinked, and as he did so, he finally noticed how a few tears were escaping the corners of his eyes. Keith huffed a laugh and wiped at his eyes with the sleeves of his hoodie before he straightened up from his slouched position. 

Shiro watched him a moment longer in concern before he nodded in understanding. “Right,” he said, and Keith gave him credit for sounding way less affected by this moment. They were still on camera, and Keith didn’t want to send the fans off on a sad note. 

Shiro was slow to face the camera, emotions warring on his face, but once he did, his smile was already in place, if a little dimmed. 

“You might remember over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been teasing big news for the finale. And, well, since it’s the finale now,” he shot a glance toward Keith, and Keith leaned forward to clutch Shiro’s shoulder in support. Shiro gulped and turned back to the camera, shoulders relaxing only a fraction. “It’s time to share some exciting news,” Shiro said, and with Keith’s steadying hand on his shoulder, Shiro’s nerves began to fall away as the enormity of their public announcement loomed only seconds away. 

Voice more confident, Shiro went on. “You might have heard about this little mission into space that’s supposed to be taking place in two weeks from here at the Garrison, but if you haven’t, then the gist of it is this: in two weeks, two yet-to-be-identified pilots are going to launch into space on a year-long mission tasked with landing on and exploring a moon so far away that scientist don’t even have that much data on it. It’s a learning opportunity for scientists and the public alike to see what’s out there floating around on the very depths of our solar system, and it’s also the farthest anyone’s ever traveled away from Earth. A real milestone for humanity.” 

The awe in Shiro’s voice was breath-stealing, and Keith couldn’t tear his eyes away from him even if he wanted to. He was magnetic, believing in each word he said with such conviction that it was impossible to ever doubt the man. Keith wished he could be as confident as Shiro was, but he was also content knowing that no one else in the world was quite like Shiro. Someone totally inimitable. Someone Keith longed to call his. 

Then, Shiro turned those exulted eyes on Keith, and he felt like he’d damn well been punched with the force of it. This world was undeserving of such beauty coming from a true angel, and, oddly, an anonymous comment from one of their past videos crossed his mind in that moment. 

 _Keith’s over there looking at his boi like he hung the moon and the stars all at once._  

Maybe Keith had that look on his face right now, and maybe he should have been more mindful to watch his facial expressions while on camera, but Keith didn’t care anymore. This was their last video, and the repercussions to his actions right now wouldn’t be felt until a year later, and who knew how things would be then? Who would even remember? It would be old news. 

He could always cut himself out of this shot, but there was also a darker part of himself, a selfish part that Keith usually fought against, that _wanted_ to keep this part in. That wanted the world to know about his strong feelings for one Takashi Shirogane. 

Would it be the worst thing? 

Shiro was saying something to him, an amused smile on his face, and Keith blinked. “Huh?” 

Shiro chuckled, smooth like velvet. “I asked if you wanted to do the honors.” 

“Oh,” Keith said, and he had to turn his body away from where it had subconsciously angled toward Shiro. He rested his elbows on the tabletop and gave his attention to the camera. “If it hasn’t been made obvious enough already, those two mysterious pilots who are gonna be cruising on the Alpha X in two weeks … it’s us. Shiro and I. We were chosen for that mission back in August, and here we are in the first month of the year, two weeks out from our January 18th launch date, and now the world knows.” 

Shiro leaned forward, hands clasped together dutifully on the table. “We know we waited an awful long time before we announced it to everyone, but we just wanted to give this show the attention it deserved without disrupting the easy flow we had going with you guys. We didn’t want to take away from the feel of embarking on a new adventure each episode by tainting it with the looming sadness that we’d soon be done here with this series. 

“Keith and I just want to thank each and every one of you guys who watched our crazy selves attempt to find out if ghosts were real, who put up with Keith’s frankly appalling disrespect for the dead, for dealing with—and for many of you, laughing at— _my_ every terror I’ve encountered in the spooky places we’ve gone. We wouldn’t have had such a successful show if not for you dedicated fans , and Keith and I wouldn’t have become as close as we have if we hadn’t had this show to tether us together, so I just want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for this incredible journey we’ve all led together, and uh, here’s to many more adventures for not just the two of us, but you guys, too. Go. Be great.” Shiro raised his _World’s Best Ghost Hunting Dad_ mug he’d gotten from a fan and aimed it at the camera before he took a sip of the coffee. 

Keith smiled at how cheesy Shiro sounded, but it also sounded right. Everything he said was true, and even though Keith wasn’t brave enough to say all of this to their fans, he knew they would understand that it came from him, too. 

What Keith could do was lean forward and say a heartfelt, “I’m gonna miss this. It’s been a hell of a time, these past two years, and I … I wouldn’t change a thing.” 

Shiro and Keith smiled proudly at each other, and Keith felt the moment solidify. This was it. The beginning of the end of Garrison Unsolved, and it was the most incredible bittersweet moment of his entire life.

~ ~ ~

The four-hour plane ride all the way to the other side of the country was uneventful at worst. At best, it was the quiet, contemplative time Keith could take to glance at all of Shiro's soft features as he slept on the flight. At the soft curl to the front of his hair that swayed lightly as Shiro breathed peacefully. At the way his arms were loosely crossed across his chest, big and firm enough that Keith wanted to reach out and touch him, just this once. It's not like Shiro would know, but as he thought about getting close enough to accidentally-on-purpose brush up against him, Shiro inhaled and slid down a little bit more, enough to drop his head down onto Keith's shoulder. It was the softest thing he could have done in his sleep, and any plans Keith had made on moving and getting more comfortable in his crappy seat flew out the window along with his mind. 

When they finally landed in Maryland, they broke off from Lance and Pidge and rented a car to take them the rest of the way across the state to their final destination. The car was completely decked out in their camera gear filming them along the dash by the time they finished with it, and as they rode along the city roads and gazed at the contrastingly different scenery than in Arizona, Shiro kept them entertained by talking with their viewers. 

“We’re going to Hollywood!” Shiro beamed into the dash camera of their car. They were on the highway now, nearly halfway there on their hour-long drive across the state to their destination of the Sotterley Plantation, and Shiro's energy was fully energized after his power nap. 

Keith gazed into the camera blankly, feet kicked up on the dash. “Don’t get your hopes up. This isn’t the city of dreams you’re used to hearing about.” 

Shiro laughed before he amended himself. “That’s Hollywood, Maryland. Not to be confused with Hollywood, California where most of my teenage celebrity crushes grew up.” Shiro sighed wistfully at the road ahead of them. 

Keith snorted, gazing out the window to the rolling hills of green the mountainous edge of Maryland had to offer. “Oh, this should be good.” 

Shiro raised his hand and began flicking off his fingers with each name he said. He went down the list of popular A-list actors and various different members from boybands that Keith hadn’t really heard of, but Shiro said it with complete ease, like everyone would know who he was talking about. The only thing Keith could think about was how those men should have felt lucky that they’d caught the attention of teenage Shiro. 

Shiro continued to amuse himself and definitely their viewers with this hilarious insight into his teenage self while Keith’s gaze wandered outside to the scenery passing them by. Blurs of green zoomed by as they left another city behind and traveled along the sprawling mountains in the back end of this state. Back in Arizona, cliffs were the only mountains he knew, rustic brown that felt like chalk beneath his fingertips as he scaled one of the smaller ledges like he was known to do. These mountains here were filled with luscious green, the layer beneath that caked in mud from the rain that hit earlier, and Keith wondered almost desperately what these mountains felt like. 

That’d been happening a lot lately. Things he’d never given a second glance at before were suddenly all he could think about. What if he never got to see a Mothman pizza again? What if he never got the chance to hear the exulted cheer rise from a crowd at the super bowl? What if he went up there not knowing what a true mountain felt like beneath his fingertips? 

Thinking on these small details made him realize that even though he was about to go where no person had gone before, there was still a lot he’d yet to experience. It seemed a bit silly to him to be skipping all of the little things and going straight to the big leagues. 

It wasn’t like he feared that anything would happen to him up there. He could always come back and finish off his bucket list with a new perspective, but he couldn’t help but feel really small and inexperienced to be heading out on a mission bigger than himself—for the sake of humanity. 

His chest felt like it was crumbling beneath the weight of his thoughts, and within two seconds of them entering the next town, Keith had pulled on Shiro’s arm and asked him if he could turn around. 

It wasn’t hard to get Shiro to turn back onto a side road right outside of town which would lead them up toward the mountain Keith had been staring at for the better part of ten minutes, its entirety so grand it really took them that long to cross the length of it. But Keith didn’t need to go all the way up to the top, and they didn’t have the time anyway. So, Keith pointed out a rest spot to park near the base of the mountain, and when they got out of the car, Keith drew in a deep breath, trying to memorize every sight and sound that welcomed him here in this sacred space. Nobody else walked these trails as Keith ventured out and sat down on a huge rock overlooking the road they’d just come from. It was peaceful here, the lilting sing-song of bird’s echoing through the trees, the sound of cars rushing by in the distance, twigs snapping in odd directions every couple of seconds. It was beautiful to be at one with nature, not a care in the world as he soaked it all in. 

Shiro was standing by a tree a couple feet away, foot kicked up against the bark of it as he relaxed with his arms folded. He looked picture perfect as he gazed out at the highway as well, and Keith took a moment to pull his camera up and get a shot of him. He’d definitely be keeping that one for his personal collection. 

But Keith had come up here for a reason. Setting all his gear down by the rock, Keith slid down onto the moist grass, which wasn’t as muddy as he’d thought, but the residual dew still lingered from the rain making him feel damp. It didn’t matter though. Keith sunk his hands into the wet grass and dug with his fingers, the pliant ground giving way easily against his exploration. The rain-soaked mountains felt so strikingly different from the crumbling sand of the desert mountains. Maybe he caught the mountains on a bad day. The ground was probably sturdier and dust-like on a dryer and sunnier day, but it felt like gooey slush under his hands now as he felt the grassy mountains for the first time in his life. 

Shiro probably thought Keith was crazy for making them stop to do something as silly as touching the sluggish mud, but if he did, Keith couldn’t tell. Not when Shiro was gazing softly at him as he did his quiet ministrations. 

The ground seemed to suck Keith’s hands in with the barest of imprints, and when he brought them out from making light hand prints in the mud, his hands were covered in brown slime. 

Yeah. Probably not the best idea. 

Shiro laughed when he caught sight of the disgusted look on Keith’s face, and the sound was infectious. He almost regretted this little pit stop, but how could he when it made Shiro smile and laugh like that? Like watching Keith explore the damp mud was the funniest thing in the world? He would have done this for that laugh alone, experience be damned. But Keith had just been so overcome with a crushing sense of time, and he didn’t want to miss out on anything. 

As he found the bathrooms designated near the parking lot and washed his hands off really good, he promised himself that he wouldn’t hold back. If he wanted to do something in the next couple of weeks that pleased him, even something as dumb as trudging through the mud just because he’d never done it before, then he’d damn well do it. 

They got back on the road with Keith driving this time, and instead of Shiro’s usual chatter at the dash cam, he took his turn to glance out at the scenery as they passed by, contemplative in his every movement. Keith wondered if Shiro, too, was worrying about all the things he’d missed out on. Probably not. There wasn’t much the older man hadn’t done. He’d always been a dream chaser and had the chance and opportunity to do all the little mundane things he’d ever wanted. Shiro was probably just soaking it all in while he could. 

Town after town they passed and each little place had something special about them. Keith remembered a song he’d heard where the girl wore a different perfume to each new place she’d visit so that she could always remember how it felt to be there. Keith didn’t wear any cologne, but he’d always thought that kind of sentiment was sort of beautiful. He wished he had his own way to capture the feeling of newness to replay over and over. 

When they reached the city of Baltimore, Shiro perked up beside him, talking excitedly to Keith and the camera as he tried his hardest to lean as far out of his seat as he could while strapped behind the seatbelt to capture all of the new sights outside from his view here below everything. As Keith watched him with fondness running through his veins, committed to memory the different expressions across Shiro’s face with each new city, he thought maybe he did have a way to remember how each place made him feel. 

Before they'd left the Garrison, Keith had mentioned how he'd wanted to make a quick stop to another haunted house here in Baltimore that Shiro had been thinking about taking on as a case before ultimately deciding on Sotterley. They parked at the curb alongside the modest two-story house and just took a second to soak in the reverent glory of the house before them. It served as a museum now, but this house used to be owned by a certain famed, dark poet. The house of Edgar Allen Poe stood on the corner of the street, a dark spot that lined the many rows of mundane modern houses. It was special especially since this had very nearly been the site that Shiro had chosen for their final episode, but there wasn’t much paranormal activity tied to this place besides a few benign sightings of an older woman roaming the halls. Keith very much wished he’d chosen this place as their last excursion because of the star quality alone, but Shiro had been practical about the whole thing. He pointed out how there weren’t any good stories of supposed haunting here, so it’d be a bust to spend the night in there. Of course Keith knew he was right and that Sotterley Mansion was chock full of dark history and recent hauntings, but he couldn’t not stop here at the Poe house while they were in the area anyway. 

He wished he could go inside and take a look around for himself, but the place was closed for the day. Still, Shiro urged the both of them over to the wrought iron gate of the front of the house and took their picture standing in front of it, arms around each other's shoulders, another piece that was going in Keith’s personal collection. 

They didn’t have much time before they were scheduled to meet up with the plantation’s manager and go over the rules for the night and nab the keys to the place, but Keith also insisted that they go to the aquarium first. Shiro tried to be practical again and point out the shrinking amount of time they had, but Keith insisted on just one show. One 4-D show of whatever was playing when they walked in, and after a halfhearted internal struggle, Shiro finally agreed. 

It turned out that the only thing playing for the day was a SpongeBob short film, and while the idea made them laugh at the absurdity of it, Shiro still dragged Keith along to grab their tickets and find seats. Keith had never actually seen a 4-D film, and at first, he wondered how the fourth dimensional aspect was supposed to reach them, but once he felt the faint mist of water spraying him from all around, he got the gist of it. Every minute or so the crowd was hit with bubbles floating in from seemingly nowhere, Keith batting them away with vigor and Shiro laughing as he popped them. Then came the wind that breezed through as the characters on screen flew out of the water for a quick taste of air, and when the show was over, Keith was a bit glad. Too many sensations for his taste. 

As they walked out of the aquarium, the look of longing on Shiro’s face hadn’t gone unnoticed by Keith, and Keith desperately wished they had more time. More time to just lounge around and do whatever they wanted, but time was the absolute _last_ thing they had these days, and as he pretended to not notice Shiro’s longing, he vowed to himself that he would bring him back here one day, just the two of them, when time wasn’t such a luxury, and they’d have the best damn day at the aquarium as they could. 

The rest of the ride to the manor went by quickly as Shiro drove them closer and closer to their destination, and when Keith faced the familiar river that he’d only seen in photos from Shiro’s case file, he perked up in his seat. 

“We’re finally here!” Shiro squealed into the camera. Keith pressed his forehead against the window glass for a moment as he took it all in. The river was silent and huge, a stretch of water that went on for miles, and yet he could still see the other side where the forest continued on. Beyond the trees, the sun was settling on the horizon, still a while away from night time, but dusk was soon approaching. The entire atmosphere felt big and old, and Keith felt like he was stepping into history as they rode along.

Outside the other window, the Sotterley Plantation was a sweeping mass of land with a few small buildings decorating the property surrounding the main house. The actual house itself was impressive in its architecture, and Keith suddenly understood why it was constantly reiterated that this was the longest surviving house from the 1700s. Just driving along the long driveway gave him chills, and it wasn’t because he thought ghosts actually haunted the place. The place just looked old, older than America itself, and it almost felt like walking back in time to when every day seemed to be a struggle between life and death. 

Shiro parked in the circular driveway where they'd been instructed to park and gathered all their gear up out of the back hatch. They had all their ghostly gadgets safely packaged in Shiro’s backpack and some more camera equipment sat back here, and once Keith strapped his camera around his neck and Shiro grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder along with his own camera, they met up with Lance and Pidge already lingering outside, their faces drawn down in annoyance. 

“Finally!” Lance said, throwing his hands out beside him as Keith and Shiro came to a halt before him at the bottom of the stairs. “I thought we were gonna have to send a rescue team out to find you two. The Garrison’s sweethearts can’t just dilly dally around like no one else is waiting on them!” 

“Lance, chill,” Keith said, adjusting the camera he’d slung around his neck. “We got stuck in traffic, what do you want us to do?” 

Lance smacked his lips and stalked over to Shiro. He yanked the chest of Shiro’s jacket up for everyone to see before Shiro could bat his hands away. “‘ _Baltimore’s National Aquarium. Hope you had fun!_ ’ ” Lance said in an exaggerated high voice , reading the sticker Shiro had slapped on himself upon receiving earlier. Shiro huffed indignantly and shrug ged Lance off of him, the color on his cheeks nothing to do with the cold weather. “I wish I knew we could take pit stops. I would’ve taken us the scenic route instead of rushing us through the interstate like maniacs trying to be on schedule for _you two_!” 

Keith was totally seconds away from building the energy for an angry tirade against Lance and warning him against making this evening unbearable when Pidge hopped down from the stairs ceremoniously and elbowed both Keith and Lance in her effort to shimmy herself in the middle of them. 

“Quit your big-headed bickering, and get inside. It’s freezing out here, and the director of the manor is waiting for us inside,” she said, holding her own video camera close to her chest and glaring pointedly between Keith and Lance. Shiro was the first to move, guiding Keith out of the circle with a light hand on the small of his back, and if Keith weren’t so keyed up, he might have even blushed at the contact. 

The inside of the main house was like stepping into one of those modern houses showcases. All of the furnishings were perfectly in place and neat, as if it were owned by a nice wealthy couple, and yet it didn’t look like anyone lived there. Paintings lined the walls, almost every one as far as Keith could see, old paintings of previous owners and their families. The sound of their footsteps echoed and bounced as they edged their way in, taking it all in with varying degrees of awe, and Shiro shivered beside him. 

“It’s so cold in here,” Shiro said, eyeing Keith with the first bit of apprehension of the night. Keith internally steadied himself, ready to battle against Shiro’s fear and keep him as tethered to reality as he could. It was the most important job Keith thought he had on these trips. He still liked to have his fun with Shiro and fuck around with him, but he knew his limits.

Keith shrugged a bit and glanced back out the open door behind them, watching as Lance and Pidge set up their hand-held video cameras, ready to film the two of them on their adventure here. 

“Well, it is January,” Keith said, nodding to the door where a slight breeze was flowing in. Shiro let out a startled laugh. 

“You know what I mean. This place gives me the spooks. It’s so old and regal, and it’s like… I feel like I’m being watched,” Shiro said, his voice dropping to a whisper as he crowded in even closer to Keith. 

Keith bit back a smile and rested his hand on Shiro’s shoulder, shaking him lightly. “Look over there in the parlor room,” he said nodding toward the open room to their right. Shiro swiveled around to face it just as the woman in the chair stood up and beckoned them over, a polite smile on her face. 

The tension slid right out of Shiro, and he turned back to Keith with an exhausted smile. “You think you have an answer for everything, but one day you won’t. And that’ll be the day, Keith, that’ll be the day when you have to finally submit to me and admit that not everything can be explained away.” 

“Yeah, that’ll be the day,” Keith said, patting his back before grabbing hold of the camera around his neck once more.   

The director of Sotterley brought them into the parlor room, which was just full of chairs and clocks and paintings and a ton of old antiques. There was a space for Shiro and Keith to sit across the table from her and even more chairs for Lance and Pidge to sit and film them and even more chairs were anyone else to join them. He really didn’t see the point of so many damn chairs, but somehow it fit with his description of old houses. 

The director had no problem with Keith and Shiro staying in the house overnight as part of their investigation, but there were a few conditions. For one, they weren’t allowed upstairs to the second floor alone. They could still go up there and sleep in their separate bedrooms like they’d planned, but she said they had to stay together at all times while on the stairs and in the hallway. Weird rule, but okay. 

They weren’t allowed to move things around too drastically, they weren’t allowed to touch the paintings, they weren’t allowed in the other houses on the property, and when they left in the morning, they had to lock up and leave the key in the purple carnation flowerpot out in the garden. Pretty easy rules, nothing unlike what previous house owners had asked of them. She also advised against going off alone anywhere in the house, period, but that was something Keith thought they could do away with. He wasn’t going to be attacked by some invisible force the moment he left Shiro’s side, and he wanted to do just that to try and prove his ‘ghosts aren’t real’ stance. 

She wrapped up her behind the scenes talk, and then they delved into a slight history of the house once more for the viewers. The director went over a few of the eye-witness accounts Shiro had told earlier, adding in her own two cents, and Keith listened and tried not to show just how bored he was. He really just wanted to move on to exploring the house. It was his favorite part to start to mess around with Shiro before it got too dark. 

Keith had been bouncing his leg impatiently the entire length of the interview, but he only realized it once he felt Shiro’s hand glide over his knee and gently ground him back to his surroundings. Keith glanced over at him, and while Shiro wasn’t looking at him and was still watching the director as she spoke about things they’d already gone over, he could see the slight curve of his lips that he just knew was meant for him. Whatever tension was curled up within his agitated body instantly dissipated. 

When the director finally left after a forty-five-minute conversation of the house and its supposed hauntings, Keith let out the sigh he’d been holding in. Shiro elbowed him with a chuckle before he leaned back in his chair. 

“You could have at least pretended to listen to what she had to say,” Shiro said, messing around with the camera around his neck. 

Keith leaned his head down to stare right into the lens as he said, “She did not say anything I didn’t already know; I just wanted to move on!” Then, he stood up to address Shiro. “I thought she was just giving us the keys and going over rules.” 

Shiro shrugged, a halfhearted hum buzzing through him. “Yeah, well, she insisted on being interviewed, and I didn’t want to tell her no. She looked super excited to be telling Sotterley’s story, and we _are_ using her place for the night.” 

Keith scoffed, smiling. “Typical Shiro. I bet if a remorseful killer was standing in front of you begging for your help in getting back home to their family, you’d help them.” 

“I would not! I draw the line at murderers.” 

Keith smirked and raised a pointed eyebrow at the camera. He’d let the fans be the judge of that statement. 

Pidge and Lance walked into the room then, video cameras already rolling and aimed at the two of them, so Keith followed Shiro in hurriedly clicking his camera on and letting it rest against his chest. It was go time. 

The first room they wanted to investigate was the kitchen. Some employees had reported the smell of coffee and bacon wafting from here, and they figured this room would probably be a prime spot for paranormal signals. 

The kitchen was huge, way bigger than the dingy office space they were given at the Garrison. Pots and pans hung overhead neatly, so clean they hardly looked used—which they probably weren’t, anyway. The island in the middle of the room was pristine, black and white tiled across the top of it. A bunch of spices and herbs stood crowded in the middle of it, and it was all very picturesque of being a part of one of the country's oldest houses. 

It was also very cold. 

“Jesus,” Shiro said, wrapping his jacket tighter around him. They were all wearing jackets and hoodies still, not having had the time to relax a bit before they went straight into filming, but that was probably a good call now. 

“Did she even leave the heat on?” Keith asked, glancing around at everyone. 

Pidge glanced from around her camera. “The director did say that it usually stays cold in the manor, so she made it clear that she was going to make sure we were comfortable. I don’t think she’d forget something like that.” She nodded at Lance, gaining his attention. “I’ll go have a look.” 

“I’ll come with you,” Lance said, and after Pidge tried to reject the idea, Lance huffed. “Didn’t you hear what the lady said? Pairs all the way. We gotta use the buddy system if we’re gonna be breaking apart. I wouldn’t want you wandering around in case some ghost tried to take advantage of your five-foot self.” 

Pidge narrowed her eyes at Lance. “How chivalrous,” she said, her tone matching her deadpan stare. “If we encountered anything supernatural out there, I’m positive that _I_ would be the one protecting _us_!” 

Lance squeaked, but before he could retort, Keith said, “Could you guys just hurry. I think I’m beginning to see my breath in here it’s so cold.” 

Pidge sighed loudly and popped into the foyer for a moment before she came back with one of the tripods. She set her camera up on it and gave Shiro and Keith a double thumbs up. “We’ll try to hurry!” She grabbed Lance by the collar of his coat and hustled out of the room. 

“Please, do!” Shiro called after them, their retreating footsteps echoing in the sudden deafening silence of the kitchen. Shiro glanced at Keith and took a deep breath through his nose, rubbing his hands together to warm himself up. 

Keith took a minute to walk along the island, trailing his finger along as he went, gazing at all the kitchen had to offer. “So, what kind of ghostly happenings went on in here?” Keith said, jumping into the banter. 

“Well,” Shiro said, and he grabbed the EMF meter out of his backpack before stopping beside Keith in the middle of the room. “In the kitchen, mostly breakfast smells and the occasional cold spot has been reported. I think we’ve already got a glimpse on that second one because it’s so cold in here. That can’t be normal.” 

“It’s January,” Keith reiterated. 

“Still. It’s colder in here than it was in the foyer.” 

Shiro flicked on the EMF meter, and the little box immediately began buzzing loudly and glowing red. Shiro’s eyes widened slightly. 

“Holy shit,” Shiro breathed as his hand began to tremble the slightest bit. It was only a tremble there, only his nerves, and Keith knew Shiro wasn’t scared yet, so it was all pretty funny to him to witness Shiro believe in the hype, even though he tried not to let it show. “Are you seeing this?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Keith said, placating. “I think the chefs wanna warm you up a good meal, Shiro. A nice, warm plate of mac and cheese. His _favorite_ ,” Keith said, calling out to the room even as Shiro urged him to shut up. 

“Stop it, Keith,” Shiro said through mild hysteria, white-knuckling the EMF meter in his hand that was still blinking red. 

Keith studied him for a moment before he hummed with intent. “Come here; I have an idea.” 

“Not your ideas,” Shiro groaned, but he let Keith pull him until they were facing each other beside the kitchen island, still in perfect view of Pidge’s camera. The EMF meter blinked a little less now, the sound dulling as the electromagnetic urgency seemed to fade. 

“Okay, now let’s close our eyes.” 

Shiro’s eyebrows rose straight to his hairline. “You’re crazy if you think—” 

“Just—Just try it. Please? For the fans’ sake.” Keith batted his eyelashes as subtly as he could for good measure and wasn’t disappointed when Shiro pressed his lips together thinly and sighed in defeat. 

“For the viewers,” Shiro said, pointing an accusing finger at Keith. 

“For the viewers,” Keith promised even if he somewhat disagreed; Shiro was helpless to Keith’s puppy eyes. 

Shiro huffed and finally closed his eyes as Keith kept his open, and while he fished around in his pocket for what he needed, he said, “Okay, now, spirits. You have the room. We’ll pretend you’re not here, and you can pretend we’re not here, and you can just go about your cooking business. A little macaroni and cheese is doable, though, right?” 

“Keith,” Shiro hesitated, but his eyes stayed dutifully closed, a slight frown appearing on his face. 

“Just wait,” Keith whispered, and he bit his lip to stifle his rising humor as he clutched the string cheese he’d been carrying since the morning. It was disgusting blue cheese that he’d pandered out of Hunk last week, and it was so worth it to give up one of his sweatbands for. “Give them a sec.” 

He let the cool silence stir for a minute as he glanced at the camera and gave a three-finger rocker salute to their fans, biting down on his tongue in excitement. Then, he very carefully opened the plastic casing, disguising the sound behind another call to urge the ghosts on with cooking Shiro’s meal, and then he slowly raised the stick of cheese right below Shiro’s nose. 

Shiro froze all over as the smell hit him, his shoulders locking up, and Keith seriously felt pity for the man getting hit with the full force of blue cheese. He watched as Shiro’s face went through many expressions: shock, fear, wonder, disgust, and maybe even a little hope. 

“I smell it,” Shiro said breathlessly, and Keith had to look away and squeeze his eyes shut to keep from laughing. “Keith! I— Do you smell it, too? Mac and cheese, it’s cheese, it’s—it’s— It smells really old and molded, though. Maybe what it could have smelled like a hundred years ago.” Shiro took another hesitant sniff. “It almost smells familiar, like…” 

And when Shiro realized exactly what it smelled like, his eyes flew open and he shoved Keith’s arm away from him as fast as he could. “ _Keith_!” 

The laughter rang out then as Keith doubled over at the waist and held onto the island to keep himself upright, the cheese still clutched in his hand, rumpled and cracked. 

“You little punk,” Shiro said, his face as red as it could be. “No. No, that’s not going in. You’re editing that bit out, I can’t _believe_ you.” 

Keith righted himself at this, still loosely clutching his waist as a few lingering giggles came out. “Oh, no you don’t. We each get one free pass! One piece of footage that can go in no matter what the other says, and this is mine. This is mine,” Keith chuckled. 

Shiro sputtered as he glanced back at Pidge’s camera which had captured the whole thing. Their own cameras were still recording, but that only offered one person’s point of view. Pidge’s captured it all, the full, wide angle shot, in 1080p. 

“I’ll get you back for this,” Shiro promised, running a hand through his dark hair. He looked incredibly adorable all flustered and embarrassed, the red on his cheeks fading to pink, and Keith had to fight the urge to join Shiro’s hand in his hair.  

“Go ahead and try. Nothing can hurt me if I don’t believe in it,” Keith said before he pulled up his own camera and whispered loudly, “That was all for you guys.” Keith kissed his two fingers and then touched the camera with them. 

“Yeah?” Shiro said, and there was a strange edge there that made Keith pause to glance at him. “And what _do_ you believe in? Because I haven't been able to figure that one out myself.” 

Keith swallowed as he let the camera fall back to his chest, a safe and comforting weight. The question wasn’t said maliciously, Shiro wasn’t trying to attack Keith with it. Shiro wasn’t even looking at him as he messed around with the EMF meter in his hands, so Keith thought maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal. Just the odd, idle thought Shiro had said off the top of his head. But he couldn’t have known how touchy that subject truly was for him. He couldn’t have known or else he never would have said anything. 

 _“If you don’t stand for anything, boy, you’ll fall for everything. So_ _,_ _what are you gonna put your faith in? What do you believe in?”_  

It was something he’d heard a lot while growing up. People didn’t understand him, and they constantly tried to get through to him, but nobody could relate to him. They all saw Keith as someone aimless, someone directionless, someone who needed something bigger than himself to believe in in order to be something—some _one._ But they were all wrong. Keith had only ever believed in _himself_ growing up, and even if no one else had thought so, it had always been enough. It got him through his tough adolescence as an orphan, it got him all the way to the Garrison, and it got him here, to a cozy life doing what he loved with friends that he loved… Maybe some more than others. 

Shiro was beautiful, both inside and out. He was the one steady presence in his life that Keith thought he’d always been moving toward, and it was almost like life was trying to give him something new to believe in. 

 _What_ do _you believe in?_  

The question on Shiro’s lips wasn’t meant to be so heavy, but it still stabbed through Keith’s chest with a ridiculous pang that he tried to ignore. But he must have not have done a very good job because when he refocused on Shiro, the other man was glancing at him in concern, a look of regret on his lips, in his eyes. 

“Um… I didn’t—” Shiro started, about to inch closer to him. 

“Aaand look who’s the hero of the hour!” Lance said, jumping into the kitchen while he gestured at Pidge who followed him in with a bright smile. She wasn’t wearing her coat anymore, and it was only then that Keith noticed how warm it was beneath his hoodie. 

“The director seemed to have forgotten to leave the heat on, believe it or not, but I found the thermostat all the way on the other freaking side of the house near the back entrance,” Pidge said, unhooking her camera from the tripod. 

Shiro gazed at Lance and Pidge as they talked among their selves for a moment, and then he came over to Keith, close enough to touch his elbow. “You okay?” 

Keith smiled softly at Shiro, the urge to wipe away his concern almost as strong as the urge was to go and hide from his emotions. “Quit worrying so much,” Keith said. He was fine, really. His own troubles were just that—his own. It wasn’t Shiro’s fault that Keith had such personal issues that a simple question was enough to have him triggered. 

Shiro studied him a minute longer, maybe seeing right through Keith, but he ultimately let it go, which Keith was grateful for. 

“So, what’d we miss?” Lance said, filming once more and watching the two of them expectantly. When his eyes landed on the string of cheese still wrapped tightly in Keith’s hand, he gasped. “Is that blue cheese?” 

He didn’t wait for Keith to finish before he scrambled over to him and blatantly asked, “Are you gonna eat that?” to which Keith shook his head. Lance snatched it up and bit into it, and Keith groaned in disgust. 

“Get that away from me,” Keith said, talking about both the string cheese and Lance. 

Lance looked affronted as he meandered back to Pidge. “How dare you speak about this heavenly cheese like that. What kind is this, anyway?” Lance thoughtfully chewed some more before he made a sound and nodded. “Roquefort, nice. The king of all cheeses.” 

Keith seriously doubted that. 

“Moving on,” Shiro said as he drummed his fingers twice on the kitchen island, directing everyone’s thoughts back to their investigation, and then they were off to the next room. 

George Plater III was the sixth governor of Maryland, and while he wasn't the first owner of this manor, he was the most popular, and his home office definitely felt like that of someone of importance. There was a huge open space in the middle of the carpeted room, paintings still ever-present, although these seemed to be official portraits of only George and no one else. A feathered ink pen and a blank sheet of paper were on the desk along with other knick-knacks fitting to a governor. It wasn’t cold anymore, just like Keith knew it wouldn’t be with the heat now on and flowing through the house, but no doubt Shiro just thought there wasn’t much paranormal activity going on in this room. 

Lance and Pidge trailed beside them with their cameras as Keith waited on Shiro to start. 

“This was George Plater III’s office,” he explained to the viewers, gazing around in wonder. “Not much has been reported in this room, but I don’t think it’d be crazy to think that George’s spirit would linger here in the room that he worked in. Some employees _have_ reported a black mass appearing from out of nowhere from random places all over the house, which is why we’re going to try and speak with him here, or any other spirits who might be attached to this room.” 

Shiro grabbed the spirit box that they used to verbally communicate with the dead from his backpack. It was a very small, very loud device that tuned into FM and AM bands to try and pick up words that were trying to be spoken through the radio frequencies. They usually managed to catch a word or two here and there, but Keith was positive that they just picked up on someone else’s radio chatter. Nothing mind blowing to him. 

When Shiro cut the device on, they all winced while they adjusted to the nonstop white noise radiating from the little thing. 

“Okay,” Shiro said to everyone, ghosts included. “Can you speak to us? This little box right here in my hands allows me to understand you guys, so just go for it.” 

His voice was strong, but it was a hard strong. Almost forced, and Keith could tell that Shiro was getting apprehensive again. The sun had already begun to go down past the trees surrounding the river, and by now, Keith was sure Shiro had turned on the thermal vision on his camera. Keith had already turned on the night vision on his own, and Lance and Pidge still had mini-flashlights attached to their normal video cameras. 

Past dark was when Shiro got the jumpiest, and Keith knew he’d have to reign in the urge to pick on him some more since night was coming. The cheese bit was plenty to hold him over for the night, anyway. 

They waited for a minute, and when nothing was picked up by the spirit box, Shiro motioned for Keith to give it a go. 

Keith rubbed his hands together and puffed his cheeks. “If there’s any ghosts in here, say something now. I’m not gonna stand around all day waiting on you like you’re probably used to. I’m no one's bitch, so if you want to be heard, speak now, ghouls.” 

“Jesus,” Shiro laughed, nervous. “Hit’em hard, why don’t ya.” 

Keith shrugged and held his hands out. “We’re the guests of honor here, why don’t you sing us a song? Dedicate it to us. I’m Keith, and this is Shiro. Go ahead, we’ll wait.” 

Shiro was freaking out a little, grabbing onto his cheek as he tried to smile his nerves away. He was shaking his head and mumbling to himself when discernible sounds finally began to emerge from the box. It was unintelligible at best, but still distinct enough to know that it was words apart from the white noise. Shiro froze, his gaze immediately falling on Keith. 

“What was that?” Keith said to the fictional ghosts, and the box actually responded. 

“ _Sh_ _e_ _-roes_ _,_ ” it said, or more like sounded like. It was hard to tell exactly what it was, but it definitely sounded familiar. 

The look of fear on Shiro’s face had him completely drained of color in seconds. 

“What the hell,” Shiro whispered, his gaze traveling quickly from the box to Keith to the box and back to Keith. “It said my name, Keith!” 

Keith waved him off with an easy grin. “Please, it was singing a song. It said, ‘she rows’. You know— _s_ _he_ _rows._ Like _she rows, rows, rows your boat_ —” 

“That’s not a real song!” 

“Georgie is nothing if not an improviser, and I applaud that. What good is being governor if you can’t think of shit on the spot?” 

“Keith!” 

Keith chuckled to himself before he asked another question. “What about me, Georgie? Can’t you say my name? I’m feeling a little left out here.” 

Static continued to play, Shiro’s anticipation growing with each second, and then the box said something like, “ _Sheet_.” 

“Huh,” Keith said. 

Lance raised his hand to gather their attention. “Uh, call me crazy, but it sounded like the guy just said, ‘sheith’? You guys have a total ghost groupie on your hands! And guess who he stans?” 

“Lance,” Keith said, glowering darkly at him through the dim lighting in the room. “ _Shut up._ ” 

Lance snapped his hand back into himself. “Ooh. Touchy.” 

The white noise in the room shut off suddenly as Shiro cut the box off. Keith couldn’t see his expression through the dark, but looking through his night vision cam revealed that Shiro was just a little bit too rattled. 

“That was all very enlightening,” Shiro said, shoving the spirit box back into his backpack. “Next room?” 

Shiro led the way to one of the other parlor rooms in the vast first floor. There was so much ground to cover, and as they went from room to room while Shiro explained the history of each room and went over brief summaries of some of the other owners of the house besides the Plater family, Keith’s attention began to wander. In the comments section of their videos, Keith always thought it was funny how their fans always caught the little things that Keith had always failed to notice in the moment; things that Keith was hyperaware of this time around. Like when they reached the parlor room, they heard a creak upstairs, and Shiro immediately grabbed a hold of Keith’s forearm. When they went into the sweeping living room, one of the flashlights had turned on by itself when they did another of their ghost experiments. Shiro flipped out and had to rest both hands on his knees to ease his breathing, and Keith realized belatedly that he was soothing over Shiro, his steady hand rubbing up and down Shiro’s spine in a comforting manner. When they walked along the hall and Lance tripped in the dark and made the hugest commotion behind them, Keith automatically whirled around and threw a hand out in front of Shiro, protecting him from whatever danger might have been behind them. He felt embarrassed afterward when he realized it was just Lance tangled up in the rug, but it hadn’t escaped his notice the grateful smile Shiro threw his way, bright and genuine and enough to light up the dark hallway. 

 _Just best friends._  

That was what Shiro had said about them just last night, but Keith didn’t feel like _just_ his best friend. He felt like so much more; _Shiro_ felt like so much more to him, and the fondness Keith was carrying around for him seemed to be becoming something more, something so much grander than he could contain. And Keith didn’t want to contain it. He wanted to let it be known that he, Keith Kogane, was in love with him, Takashi Shirogane, and had been for a long long time; _would_ be for a long long time, as well. 

With the moon mission looming over their heads, it felt like time was running out. There was this short window of opportunity to let his feelings be known, and here he was wasting it. Dreaming about telling him instead of _actually_ telling him. And people said Shiro was the coward for being scared of ghosts. If only they knew how cowardly Keith actually was. 

Somehow, he ended up sitting on the staircase alone, having slipped away from the main group. He might have left them in the library, he wasn’t sure, but Keith felt like he could finally breathe here on the steps with no one around. According to the director of this manor, he wasn’t supposed to break off from the group alone, but their fears were unfounded; nobody lingered in this home anymore. 

Beside him sat a picture of George Plater III hanging up on the wall. The man had graying hair, but didn’t look a day over thirty-five. Keith wondered if George ever sat here on these steps and moped over someone, just like Keith seemed to be doing. He somehow doubted it. 

“What are you looking at, Georgie?” Keith said, narrowing his eyes at the painting. George probably had everything handed to him. A pretty woman returning his affections so easily. Not a goddamn care in the world other than how to best maintain his political position in high favor. “I bet you don’t even know the meaning of unrequited, you pompous politician.” 

Keith didn’t know if it was fair to attack his character since he didn’t actually know any of this guy’s achievements, but Keith was feeling down, and he didn’t like the way George was staring at him as if Keith were ridiculous to be talking to him. 

“I’m going up to space. I’m gonna be a staple in this country’s growing knowledge of space, of the unknown. I’m gonna do all that, face all that with a brave front, but I can’t even tell my best friend how I feel. Isn’t that just ironic?” 

George judged him silently with his bland eyes and straight posture. Not like Keith was expecting an answer. 

“Enthralling conversation,” Keith said, and as he moved to stand up and head back to the group, a whisper came from somewhere behind him, so soft gliding through the quiet staircase. 

“ _Go.”_  

“Yeah, yeah, I’m—” Keith started, but his feet froze halfway down the stairs. He blinked. “Lance?” he called out. It would be just like Lance to sneak up on him and try to scare him. It also wouldn’t be the first time he’d tried to. 

Keith shivered and pulled his sleeves over his cold hands before he scooped up his camera and glanced around him through the night vision lens. He breathed, and he could see the tiniest ring of smoke form in front of his mouth. Did somebody mess with the heat? 

“Lance, I swear to god, if you’re up here, I’m going to throttle you so hard—” 

“Keith?” 

Keith jerked back and aimed his camera downward. Shiro and Pidge were standing at the bottom of the stairs, equal looks of worry on their faces. 

“We’ve been looking for you all over, man,” Pidge said, glancing back down the hall from where they must have come from. 

“Yeah, why’d you leave? And what are you doing on the stairs? You heard the director, she said not to go on the second floor alone,” Shiro said. He looked like he wanted to follow Keith up, but his eyes kept traveling to the darkened hallway behind Keith warily, enough to keep him firmly rooted to the first floor. 

Keith glanced back at the hallway, but he didn’t see anything or anyone behind him. “Where’s Lance?” 

Pidge said, “He said he had to go to the bathroom, so we told him to meet us here at the front. It’s time for us to go anyway.” 

Keith glanced at the clock on his camera. It was already midnight. 

“Oh,” Keith breathed. He skipped down the stairs quickly and reached the bottom just as Lance came dawdling back over. Keith narrowed his eyes at him. 

“Asshole,” he said. Because what a coincidence that he had to go off alone to the bathroom just when Keith was starting to hear imaginary voices. 

Lance’s mouth fell open indignantly. “ _What_? What did I do now?” 

Keith only rolled his eyes and turned to Pidge. She was already bundled up in her coat and placing her camera delicately into her bag. “Are you sure you guys are set to drive to the airport this late? You could always just stay at a nearby hotel and wait for us until morning,” Keith said, but Pidge was already shaking her head. 

“I’m not even tired. I slept on the way here specifically so that I wouldn’t be tired for the drive back. Hardly anyone is on the road at this hour anyway, so we’ll be okay. Just quit your worrying before it rubs off on Mr. High Strung over here,” she said, jerking a thumb at Shiro who was glancing toward the upstairs hallway with alert eyes.  

She smirked at Keith before leaning over to punch his shoulder. She did the same to Shiro, who murmured a quiet, “Be safe,” to her, and then Pidge was grabbing up her camera case. 

“Have fun here, you two,” Pidge said with a smile in her voice as Lance led the way out carrying the heavier of the camera bags. “We’ll leave the equipment in your office when we reach the Garrison, just like always.” 

“Thanks, Pidge. Drive safe, guys, and watch out for any maniacs,” Shiro said. 

Before they disappeared out the door, Lance mouthed a silent _you’re the_ _asshole!_ to Keith. Keith flipped him the middle finger before he slammed the door closed, chuckling to himself at the pettiness of having had the last word. 

Then, it was just Shiro and Keith. 

This place hadn’t felt truly creepy until it was just the two of them here inhabiting this ancient space. Shiro was shifting from foot to foot as he glanced up at the second floor again, and Keith couldn’t stop staring at that damned painting of George Plater III. His heart felt weird in his chest just gazing at it, and he hated feeling this way. There was nothing real here. Nothing real except for Shiro, and so Keith focused on him instead. At the hard and soft lines of his profile, sharp and gentle in its conflicting contrast. At the way he still had his jacket zipped up all the way to his neck, bracing himself against a ghostly chill that was no longer present. At the way Shiro swallowed thickly, and that action alone calmed Keith’s uneasiness. This was what Keith was here for. 

He walked over to Shiro and placed a hand on his shoulder, and Shiro immediately turned to him. A single flicker of light shone from a candle lit across from them on the fireplace in the foyer, and it was still light enough for Keith to see just how bright and vulnerable Shiro’s eyes were. Keith smiled at him. 

“You ready to go to sleep?” 

Shiro gathered a deep breath before braving a smile at Keith. He knew it took a lot of effort on Shiro’s part, and that just made Keith’s heart swell. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

Keith slid his hand into Shiro’s and guided them up the stairs. 

Upstairs were about six different rooms all belonging to past owners of the house and their children. Two of the rooms with supposed paranormal activity were, of course, George Plater III’s old bedroom, but another one belonged to another owner. Herbert and Louisa Satterlee were the last private owners of the house before it got sold to the county. They lived here in the early 1900s, and Keith only remembered Louisa Satterlee because she was the great grandchild of JP Morgan, the well known bank owner here in the country. And they’d already figured out their sleeping arrangements: Shiro was going to stay in the Plater’s room, and Keith in the Satterlee’s. 

He didn’t really want to leave Shiro alone; he never did. And most nights they didn’t. But Shiro had said that both bedrooms possessed paranormal energies, and that their chances of collecting evidence were higher if they separated; so here they were just ten minutes later, standing in the middle of the hallway in their pajamas, unwilling to part with each other. They’d already set up their rooms with the cameras to record while they slept, but Shiro seemed hesitant to want to leave the hallway now. 

“I can stay in there—” Keith began to say, but Shiro was quick to cut him off. 

“No, no, it’s okay. I’ll be okay. It’s better for the investigation this way.” 

“Dude, fuck the investigation. None of the tape will even be usable if you’re a quivering mess in there.” 

Shiro choked, his eyes widening a bit. “I’ll be fine. If I need you, I’ll just yell. So, listen out, though, can you?” He sounded so hopeful. 

Keith sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated at the circumstances. He wanted to just lay in there with Shiro and prevent any of the tension he knew Shiro was going to endure if he were alone tonight, but he had to respect Shiro's method. “You know I’m the lightest sleeper. I’ll hear you.” 

That seemed to quell Shiro a bit. He nodded soothingly to himself and squeezed Keith’s bicep in goodbye, quickly dropping his hand away like if he held on any longer he'd change his mind. “Okay, okay. Good night, Keith.” 

“Night, Shiro.” 

They smiled at each other and walked slowly to their respective rooms, tossing one last wave at each other before they disappeared into the rooms.  

Keith settled into the king-sized bed, marveling at the plush, rich feel of it all. All he’d ever known were small little twin sized beds ever since he was little. From his father’s cozy little house out in the desert, to the orphanage, to the Garrison, it was one twin bed after another. He didn’t mind it. He was small anyway; it wasn’t like he needed the extra space. But as he splayed all his limbs out and stretched as far as he could, he definitely found that he didn’t mind _this_ , either. 

He set his phone alarm for six in the morning, and after wishing the fans good night into the camera set up in the corner of the room, he settled into the blankets for a nice, dreamless sleep. 

It didn’t come. 

It didn’t come because soon after he closed his eyes, he began to hear mumbling from the next room over. Shiro’s room. 

Shiro always did this whenever he got nervous. He talked to the ghosts and to himself, assuring himself that he was fine while simultaneously trying to gather more evidence for his case. Keith didn’t mind listening to the rambling when it was right beside his ear, but somehow being farther away from the anxious talking made a small pit form in Keith’s stomach. He wasn’t there to counteract Shiro’s verbal anxieties with easy words of comfort; he wasn’t there to point out all the ridiculous things Shiro’s imagination could come up with. 

Keith wanted to do away with it and go in there with him, but Shiro insisted that he was fine, so Keith would have to trust him. 

A few minutes of rambling went by and when it got quiet, Keith slowly opened his eyes. He could almost feel it coming. 

Then, faintly, he heard Shiro call, “Keith?” 

Keith smiled. 

“Coming!” he called out. He glanced at the camera resting on the tripod before he left, deciding to leave it on for the investigation’s sake, and seconds later, he was walking up to Shiro’s bed in the other room. 

He’d never seen a sight so cute before. Shiro was cuddled beneath the blanket, almost hiding with how he peeked over the top of the covers as if he were a kid who heard a monster in his closet. It was only made funnier because he was so big, his feet practically reached the bottom edge of the bed, which is quite the feat for a king-sized bed. Keith took in the sight of Shiro’s anxiety mussed hair and chuckled. 

“Georgie not letting you sleep?” Keith asked. 

Shiro opened the blankets for Keith, and he slid right in, leaving a small space between them. The smallest of spaces. 

“I swear I heard talking in the other room. It almost felt like they were answering me when I would ask them questions.” Shiro was already hiding under the blankets again, Keith only able to see from his lips and up. 

“What kind of questions were you asking them?” Keith said, and as he did so, a yawn took hold of him. He tried to hide it behind a hand, but Shiro’s alert eyes had already cut over to him in concern. 

“You should get some sleep. You look exhausted, and we’ve got a long flight ahead of us in the morning.” 

Shiro was right. Of course he was right. But Keith almost wanted to fight him on the matter. 

“But you—” 

“Shh,” Shiro said, rolling onto his side to face Keith. Keith did the same, and they stared at each other for a moment, soft gazes roaming over each other. Shiro looked absolutely breathtaking in the filtering moonlight, and Keith took a moment to commit this sight to memory, as well. “I’m fine now. I just didn’t want to be alone.” 

Keith yawned again, and it seemed ridiculous to try and argue with him when he was clearly right. He’d woken up at eight in the morning and hadn’t stopped moving since. If he went to sleep now, he’d at least get to catch a good five hours of sleep before he had to drive the two of them out of there. But he was glad he got to be here where he wanted, right beside a nervous Shiro, and if just his presence was enough to comfort him, then that was enough for Keith.

Keith snuggled closer into the pillow, his eyelids dropping a bit. “Wake me if you need me. I’m serious.” 

Shiro smiled gently at him, sparkles seeming to light up his eyes like the best kind of night light. “I will. Good night, Keith. Sweet dreams.” 

“Night, Shiro,” he said. He closed his eyes and smiled at the thought that Shiro was the last thing he got to see before the dream world took him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter coming to a theater near you (soon) ((very soon))


	4. I Get it Now. It's Us. You Believe in Us.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith finally reach the point of no return, and they have no regrets.

Sunday mornings were supposed to be lazy. Keith usually woke up to no alarm and just stretched his entire being to its limits, relishing in the morning glow of the sun hitting him from the window of his quarters at the Garrison. He didn’t roll out of bed until noon, and then he’d go and see what Hunk had saved for him from the breakfast rush. 

Today was Sunday, but this wasn’t how he woke up. 

First of all, it was dark as fuck in the room. He had to peel his eyes open against the sticky urge to keep them shut, but somebody was whimpering beside him. 

When he was able to focus through the dark, he was able to make out Shiro merely inches away from him, his face contorted into one of mounting distress. His dark eyebrows were furrowed, lips moving quick with agitated mumbles, and when Shiro tightened his grip, he realized that Shiro had an arm draped around his waist tightly, clutching him close every now and then as his dream continued to torment him. 

As much as the contact made him blush with warmth, the sight of him in pain tore at his heart, and he gently shook him awake. 

“Shiro,” he said, voice rough with sleep. He shook him again, harder this time, louder. “Shiro.” 

Shiro’s breathing crescendoed until he finally stuttered awake, a quiet gasp sounding as his eyes opened very minutely. It didn’t seem like Shiro even knew where he was for a moment, let alone knew that he was clutching Keith close, as he glanced at the wall across from them in confusion for a moment. Shiro focused steadily on the wall as he blinked sleepily a few times until his panicked breathing quieted, and when he was calm, he finally let his eyes slide closed again. 

Keith thought that would be the end of it, and after a moment of steady breathing, he gently brought a hand up to Shiro’s bicep to sooth his thumb back and forth across. 

Shiro’s eyes flew open. Keith froze. 

Time was at a standstill as they took the other in. Shiro’s hair was even messier after a night of tossing and turning, but he couldn’t have looked more beautiful to Keith in that moment. Keith thought his own hair was probably just as wild, just as crazy, but he probably looked like a psycho. 

“Keith,” Shiro breathed, and Keith bit his lip at the sweet, smooth tone of his early morning whisper voice. The very first words spoken of the day, and it was Keith’s name. “Keith, I had a nightmare.” 

His heart panged, and he resumed his comforting thumb motion on his arm. “I had a dream.” 

Shiro’s soft smile was enough to ease the slow-forming knot coiling in his gut. “Tell me.” 

Keith swallowed and gazed down at Shiro’s clothed chest as he tried to recall as much of the dream as he could for him. “We were up in space. We were having so many adventures, Shiro. Adventures where we got to meet the kindest and gentlest aliens in existence. They took care of us and showed us their way of life, and they accepted us as friends. They let us eat their food and offered us shelter and in exchange, we helped to protect them. We fought against the bad guys, and we always won. We always won.” 

It was the strangest dream, and it felt like so much had happened in a dream that probably only lasted about an hour. Time was weird like that. 

Shiro used his free hand to pull Keith’s hand away from his arm to lay flat over his heart as he settled a bit more on his back, but he never let go of Keith’s waist. “That sounds lovely. I wish I could have seen it.” 

The beating of Shiro’s heart was calm for a minute before it began to beat like crazy again. Keith glanced at Shiro’s face again and found that same look of distress. “Mine was the exact opposite,” Shiro said quietly. Keith waited patiently, knowing Shiro was about to reveal what he couldn’t the other night in the diner. He’d brushed off the nightmares as silly then, but Keith saw now that they were nothing like that. 

“I dreamt that we got separated. Up there. On the moon of that planet we’re going to. We were taken by hostile aliens, and they separated us. I couldn’t find you, Keith. I looked and I looked, but nobody would tell me anything. All they did was throw me in a gladiator pit and made me… 

“I fought for so long, and when I finally managed to escape, I wasn’t the same; my _body_ wasn’t the same. I thought I almost found you at the end, but I woke up before I could be sure.” 

Keith’s throat felt tight as he listened to the little breaks in Shiro’s voice as he struggled to relay his dream for him, and Keith couldn’t stand it. He pulled Shiro’s face around to look him straight in the eye. 

“That will _never_ happen. I won’t let it,” Keith said vehemently. There was a shine to Shiro’s eyes, and Keith clutched his face firmer beneath his hand. “I’d tear anyone apart who tried to separate us, you have to know that.” 

Shiro swallowed thickly before a wet chuckle burst out of him. He wiped at his eyes before resettling back on Keith’s hip. “I do. I told you these nightmares were just ridiculous.” 

“It scares you. It’s not ridiculous.” 

Keith continued the soft stroking on his cheek as Shiro’s eyes closed, and he didn’t stop until he felt Shiro’s breathing even out. 

It hurt Keith that these were the nightmares that plagued Shiro. Dreams where they got separated, dreams where Shiro—kind, gentle, sweet Shiro—was forced to _fight_ for his life. He didn’t even want to imagine what he meant when he said his body wasn’t the same, and Keith clutched Shiro tighter to him, needing the comfort just as much as Shiro did. 

“Thank you, Keith.” 

Shiro opened his eyes again, and Keith was reminded of how close they were. They were practically sharing the same air as they inhaled and exhaled, and Keith was so overcome. He was so overcome with everything he’d been trying to beat down for a long time. 

“Shiro,” Keith said, heart suddenly racing that he thought Shiro might be able to hear it. Keith wanted to say something to ease into this, something to lead in with. He’d thought of a million ways to tell him that he loved him, but now that Keith was merely seconds away from sharing his most intimate secret, he couldn’t think of a thing to say. 

Shiro made it easy, though. His eyes flickered down to Keith’s lips, and for an insane second, Keith let himself believe that Shiro wanted this just as much as Keith did. 

So, he leaned forward and let their lips touch. 

Keith’s heart jumped straight into his throat, and he gasped loudly, breaking away for only a moment before he brought his lips back down on Shiro’s. When Shiro reciprocated and moved his own slick lips against Keith’s so easily, like they did this sort of thing all the time, he was pretty sure his brain short-circuited. There wasn’t any time to be shocked as Shiro gripped Keith’s waist tighter, bringing them dangerously close while they finally opened their mouths to each other. Keith shuddered bodily in his hold as he let his tongue delve into the warm heat that he’d only ever been able to imagine. It was so much more holier than he expected, and Keith was beginning to feel dizzy with the sensation. 

They explored each other lazily, tongues gliding over each other in exploration as their hands clutched and grabbed possessively, and when Shiro groaned lowly in his throat, Keith preened. 

Shiro pulled away first, panting heavily into the suffocating space between them. Keith laid there with his eyes closed, suddenly too afraid to open them because surely this was all a dream. This kiss did not just happen. 

Did it? 

Gentle hands explored Keith’s face, and he held his breath, letting it happen. He’d let Shiro do anything he wanted to him. 

“Open your eyes,” Shiro whispered, and Keith wanted to. He desperately wanted to see if he was gazing at him with the softest look he could muster. But he couldn’t. 

Keith shook his head. 

“Keith,” Shiro urged, but Keith shook his head again, squeezing his eyes shut even tighter. 

“I can’t,” Keith admitted, and it went against every instinct in his mind screaming at him to give Shiro what he wanted. And it was so easy; he just wanted him to open his eyes. But even that seemed like an impossible task. 

“Why not?” Shiro said. Patient. Always so patient, never demanding anything of Keith. 

“Because—” Keith took a breath. Held it. Let it out as he spoke. “Because then this might not be real, and I don’t think I could stand it if it weren’t.” 

This was the most vulnerable Keith had ever allowed himself to be with someone, and it meant a great deal that it was Shiro who he chose to let himself be true with. Shiro would never take advantage of this inexplicable hold he had over him, and it made Keith feel so safe. Safe for the first time since he was a kid. 

The soft stroking on his face didn’t let up, and it was a small win. He hadn’t scared him off yet, at least. 

“Is that what you’re afraid of? That none of this is real? That my feelings for you aren’t real?” 

 _Feelings for you_ …? 

That was enough to break Keith from his stance. His eyelids opened, and he didn’t regret it for a second because Shiro was smiling at him now, as radiant and true as ever, and Keith’s heart stalled at the sight. It was all for him. 

“Hi,” Shiro breathed happily. He let go of Keith’s face and grabbed both of his hands in his own and held them tightly in the space between their chests. 

“Hey,” Keith said, equally soft. The light was beginning to trickle in from the window, the sharp angles barely skimming the top of Shiro’s bed hair. It made the top of his head glow. An actual angel. Keith woke up to an actual angel in bed, and it was better than any lazy Sunday he’d ever had before. 

Shiro had to keep biting down on his smile to prevent it from getting too big, his happiness reaching maximum overload, and the sight made a fond smile come to Keith’s face. 

“I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but I’ve been thinking about this moment for a long time,” Shiro said. “Longer than I had any right to. Longer than was probably normal.” 

Keith’s mind was on fire as he listened. He was awake, right, wasn’t he? It almost felt too good to be true. 

“You have?” 

“Yeah. I used to have this huge crush on you, you know?” _No_ , Keith most certainly did _not_ know. “Matt used to tease me all the time about it. Said I should just quit sulking and ask you out like a normal person. I tried to. I almost did a few times, but I just was never sure how you felt, and I didn’t want to embarrass you or myself. It was the reason I asked you to do this show with me. To get to know you better. Figure you out, what kind of music you liked, what you liked to do for fun, your favorite meal. I just wanted an excuse to talk to you.” 

“Shiro…” Keith couldn’t believe it. All this time. All this time Shiro had been feeling the exact same way, and Keith had no idea. “Wait, what do you mean _used_ to have a crush? You— You don’t anymore?” 

The word choice had already begun to infiltrate his heart with roots of worry and anxiety, but Shiro squeezed his hands, bringing his gaze back up. “I don’t think I could call what I’m feeling a _crush_ anymore. It … It’s so much more than that now.” 

No way. Keith had totally died in the middle of the night and had woken up into this version of heaven. This was his heaven. Everything was perfect here. 

Shiro leaned closer into Keith as if that were possible, and when they locked eyes, it was like the pinch that woke him up. 

“Keith, I’m… I’m in love with you.” 

Keith had a hard time swallowing past the lump in his throat, and he closed his eyes again. He wasn’t hiding this time. He just was feeling so much and he needed to let it out somehow. 

“Shiro,” Keith said because he needed to say this as well. He’d waited too damn long, and the time had finally come, he couldn’t let it slip away from him again. He gazed back at Shiro fondly through a slight sheen in his eyes now, and when he blinked, he felt a few tears slip down his cheeks. “I’m in love with you, too. Fuck, do I love you. I love you so much it started to hurt.” 

Shiro wiped his tears away with steady hands, smiling at him with sparkling eyes. “It doesn’t have to hurt anymore. I love you.” 

Keith was swept back up in between Shiro’s firm grip as their lips met again. This kiss was so much more tender, everything they wanted to say having already been said. There was nothing to prove. They loved each other. They have for a long time, and this was their reward. They deserved this. 

When Shiro pulled away this time, Keith hummed, missing the sensation already. It was definitely a feeling he could get used to, the feel of his lips on his. It was definitely a feeling that he _would_ be getting used to. 

“The cameras are still rolling,” Shiro mumbled, and then he laughed, dropping his head down onto Keith’s chest. 

Keith didn’t even care. He could always edit this part out. 

“Don’t you dare,” Shiro said, lifting his head to reprimand him. Fuck, did Keith just say that out loud? 

Keith scoffed. “You want the whole world to know about our dreams? To hear our sappy declarations? Uh, yeah, I don’t think so.” 

“Mmm, what if I wanted to used my one free pass? What then?” 

Keith narrowed his eyes at him, though he could tell Shiro was joking. “Then, I guess I’d just have to _accidentally_ drop this footage in the river out back.” 

“In the river?” Shiro mock gasped. “How do you accidentally toss film into a lake that’s hundreds of yards away?” 

“Don’t test me. You know I can do it.” 

Shiro chuckled and wrapped Keith up in his arms. He snuggled right into it, feeling so perfect there that he couldn’t imagine fitting so perfectly anywhere else. “I’m just kidding. I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t mind if you edited the footage around to keep the more intimate parts private, but I also wouldn’t mind if you chose to keep the kiss in at least. Totally up to you.” 

And it really was up to Keith. Shiro was surrendering control and the fate of their onscreen relationship all up to Keith, and it made him feel so heavy with emotion, with _love._ He couldn’t remember the last time someone had put this much faith in him. But he wasn’t alone in that. No, Keith had as much faith in Shiro as Shiro had in him. Shiro was what Keith believed in, after all. 

Maybe he’d keep this moment in, maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’d let the fans have what they’d been waiting for for years and keep the kiss in. He really didn’t know what he was going to do once he got behind that computer for editing. 

But he knew what he was about to do right now. 

“Hey,” Keith said, tugging on Shiro’s hands. “Do you want to go out sometime?” 

Shiro giggled again, the sound so rich he felt blessed just listening to it. “I feel like we’re doing this all backwards. Weren’t we supposed to ask each other out first before we said our _I love you’s_?” 

Keith shrugged. “Normal is for losers. And I want to take you to the aquarium again. We should go. Like right now.” 

“Right now? Keith, it’s barely six in the morning, and we have a tight schedule today. We’ve got that meeting with Iverson once we land around noon, and I don’t think the aquarium opens up until, like, ten.” 

Keith deflated. Time was never on their side. 

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said, and he sounded genuinely sorry, as if it were his fault that time was working against them. Such a Pisces. 

“Don’t be sorry. Be prepared. Because I will take you back to the aquarium if it’s the last thing I do. We didn’t even get to see the little sea snakes.” 

Shiro huffed, amused. “How about this. As soon as we return from our space journey to that faraway moon, we can grab a car and just head back over here. We’ll go to the aquarium, and we’ll see the sea animals, and then we’ll go for pizza. Maybe catch a movie if anything good is playing. We’ll do all of that, and we’ll call it our first date.” 

The best part was that Keith could imagine it all happening, and not just in his dreams. Shiro said it would happen, and so Keith believed it would. Their first date was going to be amazing. 

“I like that,” Keith said, and he tilted his head up. Shiro pressed one lasting kiss to his mouth before the sun finally reached Shiro’s eyes, and he cringed away from it. Time to start their day. 

It took no time at all to pack all their tripods and ghostly equipment away. They kept the cameras around their necks on, switching back to the regular day mode. The two of them kept sneaking sly glances at each other and smiling like a couple of teenagers, and he knew it would be good footage for their fans. Something sweet to leave them with. 

When Keith passed down the stairs, he saluted the image of George Plater III that had mocked him just last night. Over the course of a night, Keith was no longer that mopey, pining boy who had conversed with imaginary people. He was on top of the world. Probably like how George felt at the peak of his life. 

They stood at the threshold of the door with their camera bags as they took in the sight of Sotterley manor one last time. They’d visited a lot of places over the years, but Keith knew it in his heart that Sotterley was going to be the one he would never forget. Not only because it was their last house for the show’s series finale, but because this place had given him something that he’d been searching for for years, and it was something Keith hoped to have for the rest of his days. 

Keith usually liked to grab some memento from the places he stayed, and while he wasn’t allowed to take anything from this house, he didn’t think he needed a knick-knack for his collection from this place—what Shiro and Keith had started here was plenty memorable for him. 

He grabbed Shiro’s hand in his and let the camera linger on the sight before he followed the path up Shiro’s arm and aimed the camera at Shiro’s beaming face. Shiro was doing the same at Keith with his own camera. 

“Any last words, Shiro? Now’s your chance.” 

Keith was perfectly content leaving this place without a backward glance, but Shiro hummed to himself as he gazed at all the paintings around them thoughtfully. “I guess I’m just a little disappointed that we didn’t catch anyone. Not the Platers, not the Satterlees, and not even the Briscoe family had made an appearance.” 

Keith couldn’t remember any mention of the Briscoe family, but it didn’t matter anymore. Their time here was over. 

“Thanks for nothing, guys,” Shiro said, and Keith laughed as Shiro tugged them outside. He locked up the place and dropped the key in the purple carnation flowerpot, just like how the director had asked of them, and then they were gone. 

The car ride to the airport was hands down Keith’s favorite part of the whole trip. Shiro kept a firm grip on Keith’s free hand for most of the way, content to let that little yet monumental thing happen in front of the camera. He carried on talking and pointing things out outside the window, but he did it all with Keith’s hand in his. A few times when Shiro was distracted, Keith would glance down at their conjoined hands and then at the camera, his lips curving in the softest of smiles before he’d go back to the road, pretending like nothing happened. 

He just couldn’t believe it. Yesterday they were driving along these same roads, and Keith had been riddled with anxiety, scared of leaving the world he knew behind without having experienced much of it. He didn’t feel like that today. He felt like he was floating on a cloud, not a real one that would probably kill him if he got too close, but those big fluffy ones like in the movies. He was sprawled out on a big, pink fluffy cloud, and Shiro was beside him feeding him grapes in red and gold robes like Roman royalty. 

It was the stuff of his dreams, but now they were finally rooted in truth. Shiro was his now, and he was Shiro’s, and Keith wanted the entire world to know. 

His breathing stuttered as he thought it, the conviction of his thoughts so resolute—and he knew what he had to do. There wasn’t even any need for a debate. 

He couldn’t wait to start editing. 

~ ~ ~ 

Procrastination was such a lazy word. Keith preferred … perfect time management. Really there was no excuse though as to why he let the editing of the final episode of Garrison Unsolved wait until Friday. It’s true that that was the regular day for editing, but their work on the case had wrapped up Sunday afternoon as soon as they made it back home, so there was no reason why he couldn’t have worked on it little by little throughout the week. 

Keith blamed Shiro. 

Shiro, with his adorably kissable lips that Keith couldn’t get enough of. Shiro, who was so incredibly sweet as to bring them dinner from Hunk to share in Shiro’s room every night. Shiro, who Keith somehow kept ending up with as they snuck into the dark corners of the Garrison to make out and grope each other like they didn’t know how to control their selves. 

Shiro, who was now twirling in a chair beside him and tossing grapes at the side of his head. It wasn’t anything like Keith’s mini Roman fantasy, which was tragic. 

“Come ooon, Keith, it’s already past eighteen hundred hours, it was supposed to be up ten minutes ago.” Another grape bounced off the side of Keith’s head. 

“I’m nearly done. Just a few more subtitles; I can barely understand you in this one.” 

Shiro chuckled before he rolled himself over to Keith. “Let me hear it.” 

Keith played the two second clip again where Shiro had said something under his breath, and Shiro listened hard. Then, he smiled bashfully at Keith. “I said, ‘You’re certifiable.’” 

Keith squinted at him as he went back to type in the subtitles. “Who were you talking to?” 

Shiro chuckled nervously, and now Keith was slowly glaring at him, already having some idea as to that answer now. “Funny story,” Shiro started. 

“Not interested,” Keith interrupted. He pouted at the laptop as he wrapped the video up. He wasn’t even mad, but he loved the reaction he could get from Shiro when Shiro thought he was upset at him. 

“Aww, don’t be like that,” Shiro said, easing his arms around his shoulders so he could cling to his back, an awkward position with them being in two different chairs. The soft press of lips against the side of his cheek almost broke him, a grin threatening to spill over, but he bit his tongue and held strong. 

Shiro didn’t give up though. His sweet pecks turned to soft biting at his earlobes, and when Shiro sucked on the whole lobe, Keith whined beneath him. 

“Are you trying to seduce my affections?” Keith said. 

“Maybe,” Shiro sing-songed, nipping at him until Keith had to pause his typing to close his eyes and relish the feel of Shiro’s mouth. 

“That’s not very gentleman-like,” Keith said, full on appreciating that fact for what it was worth. 

Shiro slid his mouth as close to his ear as he could and whispered, “Who said I wanted to be?” 

Absolutely fucking no one did. Certainly not Keith, and he’d silence anyone who tried to even utter the words. 

Keith turned his head to meet him in a kiss, just a soft, unhurried movement of their lips sliding together, but Shiro ended it too soon and patted his thigh. 

“Video. Done. Now.” 

Keith groaned and turned back to the screen. “Okay, okay, it’s done now. All we have to do is—” Keith touched the screen on the word UPLOAD, shrugging his shoulder at Shiro to do the honors, like always. But this time Shiro guided Keith’s hand to the touchpad and glided the pointer over to the upload button together. 

“To us,” Shiro said, and they clicked the button. 

“To us.” 

The video was about a half an hour long, so Keith and Shiro got wrapped up in each other for this little bit of time, and when things started getting more heated and waves of pleasure began rolling all the way down Keith’s stomach, he forced himself to take a step back. There was plenty of time for that kind of fun later. 

He gazed back at the screen from where he was seated in Shiro’s lap, and when he saw all the comments written in caps, he knew the news had finally broke. He regretfully climbed off of Shiro and pulled his own chair back to him so they could take a look at some of the comments. 

 _W HY WHY THEY GOTA DO DIS_  

 _a_ _www I’m so happy for them!_ _g_ _host hunter_ _boyfriends_ _up in space!_  

 _4:23_ _INTRINSIC RITUALS_  

 _t_ _hey kissed_ _ohmygod_ _ohmygod_ _ohmygod_ _ohmygod_ _ohmy_  

 _BED_ _SHARIFN_ _IS MY KINK_  

 _I just want to say how much these two have_ _been_ _a big inspiration to me. I’m sad that the show is over but it’s for a good reason! These two are going down in history books for this and they’ll be known all over the world as the two pilots who piloted Alpha X but to us they’ll always be those two amateur ghost hunters <3 _ 

 _THIS EPISODE WAS SO GAY_ _LMAO_  

 _Lance_ _is a_ _sheith_ _stan_ _pass it on_  

 _Thank you boys for an amazing two years of ghost and demon hunting. Come back and tell us all about the stars!_  

 _Keith_ _drowning_ _in that damn_ _oversized_ _hoodie the whole time._ _ho_ _nestly he could have showed up in a trash bag and_ _i_ _d still fuck 11/10_  

There was also a very in-depth comment that pointed out all the times Shiro and Keith touched each other in some way, and Keith made a mental note to reply back to them with another winky face. 

“It seems they’re all very enthusiastic, as always,” Shiro said, reading over the comments that filtered in at a faster rate than normal. With the amount of views the video kept climbing to, he wouldn’t be surprised if the video ended up trending number one soon. 

“They’re taking the space news a lot better than I thought,” Keith said as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but I guess it seemed like such a monumental deal to me. I almost felt like they’d despair at us and inadvertently make us feel bad, but they’re actually being really sweet. Encouraging us.” 

Keith marveled at the support. His support system had always been small, mostly just him for the longest time. But in his time here at the Garrison, it grew. First by Pidge and then by Hunk. And then Shiro and Matt when Shiro had approached him for the show idea. Lance came soon after, although Lance came with his own set of headaches, but he always meant well with Keith. It was a small group of friends, but it was more than Keith had dared to dream about. He’d always thought it’d be just them, too, but these comments were here in his face and these strangers, these fans, were _excited_ for Keith. They wanted to see him succeed, and Keith could feel his heart filling so much more than he ever thought possible. He felt so incredibly lucky. 

“Of course they’re encouraging us,” Shiro said, running a hand through Keith’s hair adoringly. “I didn’t think it’d go any other way. We have the most sincere fans in the world, and we’re so lucky to have them. 

“Yeah,” Keith said softly. “Yeah, we really do.” 

Keith was suddenly ten times more elated about keeping the kiss in there. He did away with Shiro’s nightmare though because that was as vulnerable as Keith had ever seen Shiro, and he didn’t want to share that with the world. So, it went straight from Keith talking about his dream, to their kiss and talks about dates afterward. He kept that in for the fans, and he was glad that they loved it so much. It felt nice leaving them with this kind of fairytale ending when Shiro and Keith were about to start their new adventure up in the stars. Everything was right with the world. 

“Now, come on,” Shiro said, dragging Keith to his feet. They closed up the laptop and gathered their backpacks, giving their knick-knack filled office a wistful look. “We have to pack all this up soon. We can just keep it in my room until we get back. Then we can figure out what to do with it all.” 

Keith took Shiro’s hand in his and gazed at all their adventures. “Do you think we could start this back up when we get back? Maybe … start a second show? One where we talk about what we did or what we encountered up there.” 

Shiro wrapped his arm around Keith’s neck, keeping him close, and Keith slid his arm around Shiro’s waist. “I think we can do whatever we want when we come back. We’ll have nothing but time, and I plan on spending a lot of it by your side.” 

Keith bit down on his smile, loving the sound of it already. “Me, too, Shiro. Me, too.” 

~ ~ ~ 

Their final week here on Earth was hectic. Shiro and Keith barely got to see each other, or they did, but they barely had any _private_ time with each other which just exhausted Keith out between the last minute meetings they were stuck in and last words of advice they were given.  

Keith complained to Shiro one night about their lack of time together while they were tangled in the sheets, warm skin on warm skin. Shiro had only laughed and hugged Keith tighter. 

“Just have patience. We’re about to spend an entire year alone together, and we’ll have all the private time in the world.” 

But waiting was so _hard._  

When it came time to clean up the Unsolved office, Keith almost cried. He was packing away all that he held dear to him into little boxes, and once he was staring at the empty office, it really settled in that he was actually leaving. This place which had become a refuge for him was barren and lifeless, and he was almost overcome with emotion. Thank god Shiro was there to wrap him up in his arms and whisper words of comfort to him. He told him that it was only temporary; they’d come back and refill the place up and claim the room as theirs again. They might even come back with new souvenirs, and it was enough to get Keith back on track. 

The day of launch itself seemed to halt all time. He woke up in Shiro’s bed with the sun shining on their faces, and he was strangely calm. The world was quiet and bright and everything felt slow around him, and he felt no rush to get up and start his day. 

He ended up tracing the curves of Shiro’s sleeping face for a little bit, trying to commit this moment to memory for the rest of his life. Waking up beside Shiro on his last day on Earth seemed like a good way to leave. Even if Keith’s dreams came true and they had adventures from their wildest imagination up there, this would be the moment Keith wanted to keep with him. Even if _Shiro’s_ nightmares came to fruition, he still wanted this to be the memory he kept with him. The two of them sleepy and warm and happy and together. Always together. 

Shiro finally joined him in the waking world, blinking his eyes open softly like a little newborn kitten. Keith couldn’t hold back the kiss to his nose at the sight. Shiro laughed breathily, rubbing at his eyes until he was more alert. He smiled as he finally focused on Keith there in front of him, smiling shyly at him. 

“Good morning,” Shiro said, humming as he yawned and stretched out his stiff limbs. 

“Yes it is,” Keith said, snuggling into Shiro’s side some more. “The day is finally here.” 

Shiro came down and wrapped an arm around Keith, rubbing his fingers up and down his back. “Are you scared?” 

Keith thought about it and answered honestly. “Mmm, no. I’m not scared. Are you?” 

Shiro didn’t hesitate. “Nope. Not anymore.” Keith tilted his head up to glance at him. It was such a turnaround to how Shiro had been feeling leading up to this moment. Keith was glad the nerves were gone, but he wondered how Shiro sounded so sure. “I believe you, Keith. When you say that things are gonna be okay up there, then I trust you enough to believe you. I have nothing to be scared of anymore.” 

Keith took a deep breath, his heart aching at the words. Shiro was the only one who had such unabashed faith in him. He trusted Keith wholeheartedly, and it made Keith feel so much more important, like his words actually left an impact on him. 

Keith didn’t believe in a lot of things, that was true, but he definitely believed in Shiro. 

“I love you,” Keith murmured to him before pushing up to mesh their lips together. It was soft and lazy, and when Shiro pulled back, he echoed back to him, “I love you, too.” 

 The morning was spent getting one last debriefing from Iverson who sent them off with words of respect and admiration. Definitely the nicest tone he’d ever heard coming from the man. 

They changed into their pilot gear and headed outside to the waiting crowd. Tons of people, the public, the news media, their fellow cadets and officers were all out there waiting and cheering them on. It was all so much, and Keith almost felt like running straight to the Alpha X to avoid everyone, but Shiro grabbed his hand and grounded him, the nerves numbing a little. 

Their friends were waiting by the rope that held everyone off, and when Shiro and Keith were close enough, they were engulfed in the tightest group hug he’d ever been sucked into. 

“We’re gonna miss you guys!” they were all saying, taking turns hugging them individually, first to Pidge and then Hunk, Matt and then Lance. Keith let himself hold onto each person just a little too tightly, figuring he could get away with it since he wasn’t about to see them for a whole year. 

Shiro grabbed Keith up once they were clear and grinned brightly at their friends. “We’re gonna miss everyone. Please watch over our stuff, will you? Don’t let anyone mess with our Garrison stuff, and Matt, please remember to stop by my quarters and water the plants.” 

Matt had an arm on both Pidge and Hunk’s shoulders as he shot Shiro a lopsided grin. “I helped raised them from little seeds, of course I’m gonna take care of them while their other dad is gone.” 

Keith nodded to Pidge. “And you’re good with feeding Red while I’m gone?” 

Keith had a pride and joy all his own in the form of a green little turtle with a red dot on his shell that he’d named Red that he’d had for almost a year now. 

Pidge scoffed at him and rolled her eyes. “I already told you, I’m gonna be a great foster mom to that little guy. He’s so cute and tiny and he can cheer me on while I work on the most advanced robot I’ve ever worked on!” 

“He’s good for that,” Keith said seriously. 

A horn blew the air, startling Keith before he realized that it was send-off time. Time to go. 

Shiro and Keith hugged their friends one last time before they joined Iverson at the front of the crowd. A huge walkway drawn in chalk was right behind them leading up to the Alpha X, and Keith suddenly couldn’t wait to run up there. 

They let the media take a few pictures as they shook hands with Iverson and put their helmets on. The very last touch on their outfits. Then Iverson waved them away and Shiro and Keith were finally on the chalked path.  

His heart was in overdrive as he watched the Alpha X loom closer and closer, a beautiful shuttle that was meant to be their home for the next year. It was huge and gray with black and red steaks along the side of it, something so perfectly fitting to Shiro and Keith’s taste. Everything still felt a bit surreal, almost like a dream. Even as they buckled their selves up in their pilot chairs and Shiro flipped on the controls. This was it. It was finally happening. The ultimate dream Keith had secretly wished for as a kid was coming true, and he could still hardly believe it. 

Keith glanced over at Shiro. Shiro had never been in that dream growing up, but now Keith couldn’t imagine going up there without him. 

Shiro turned to Keith as the shuttle roared to life, a steady vibration rocking the entire aircraft heavily. 

“Hey, Keith?” Shiro said, and Keith could hear him loud and clear through the mic in his helmet. 

“Yeah?” 

“Remember back at Sotterley when I had asked you what you believed in?” 

Keith nodded at him, confusion disorienting his thrilled mood. 

“Well,” Shiro began, and he looked nervous for all of a second before he relaxed and smiled at Keith through the visors of their helmets. “I think I get it now.” 

“Get what?” 

“It’s us,” Shiro said, and a rush went through Keith, making him feel warm and cold all over. “You believe in us.” 

This was a fine time to be having this conversation, but they might as well get this all out of the way before they left Earth for good. Get all the misunderstandings out before new adventures took their attention. 

“Took you long enough to figure that one out,” Keith said. 

Shiro laughed and placed his hands on the steering controls, and then faced Keith more seriously. “I’ve always had people say how they believe in me, and how I was going places. But it’s different coming from you. The words feel true coming from you, and I can’t doubt it. I _don’t_ doubt it when you say it.” 

Keith rested a gloved hand on Shiro’s arm. “What we have is real to me, Shiro. How could I not believe in what I can see with my eyes and feel in my heart every time I’m with you?” 

Shiro grinned at him, as bright as the sun and stars that they were about to head off to. “I love you so much, Keith.” 

“I love you, Shiro,” Keith said easily. Then he steeled himself with a deep breath. “Now take us to Triton.” 

And that’s exactly what Shiro did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise surprise, they're not headed to kerberos! i wrote this so long ago that intrinsic rituals was still a thing omg but im glad i finally finished this and its all out there, and thank you to anyone who made it this far! I super appreciate it. I wrote this at the beginning of the year when Buzzfeed Unsolved was on the brain, and it was really fun mixing that up with my favorite soft bois, so this was all really just fun to write, more comedic and less heart wrenching than what i usually write, so that was a nice break.
> 
> As always, i had a super small playlist to accompany this story, and it included Sunflower by Post Malone, and Don't Think Twice and Face My Fears by Utada Hikaru. So soft, i cry.
> 
> Yeah so thanks for reading, and let me know what you thought about it, and I'll be seeing you all soon :)


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